Escalon Police made a trio of arrests this past week involving firearms.
On Thursday, Feb. 29, officers responded to the area of Coley and Jerry avenues shortly before 9 a.m., said Police Chief Gustavo Flores.
“We had a report of a male subject in a blue hoodie and sweatpants, carrying a laptop in one hand and for some reason he stopped to pick something up off the ground and when he leaned over, a gun fell out on to the ground,” Flores said.
Police were alerted to the incident by a caller who observed the firearm fall to the ground.
Officers responded to the scene and determined that the laptop the subject was carrying had been stolen from a nearby residence. The gun, a loaded Sig Sauer 45-caliber handgun, was determined to have been reported stolen from the Bay Ara.
Arrested in connection with the case was Adrian Jauregui, 26, and he remained in custody at press time, at the San Joaquin County Jail. Bail was set at $100,000 with a court date of March 11 scheduled. Charges filed were felony receiving stolen property, felony carrying a loaded handgun when not the registered owner, felony first degree burglary and felony use of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Flores said the laptop was taken from a home in the 2100 block of Coley Avenue.
An early morning traffic stop Sunday, March 3 in the 1300 block of Escalon Avenue for an equipment violation also resulted in two arrests. The stop was made about 1:45 a.m. and as officers were conducting a registration check, they noticed the passenger appeared to be hiding something in the glove compartment. A search revealed a 9 mm Glock 17 handgun along with a 10-round Glock magazine in the car.
“It was determined to be a ghost gun,” Flores said, with the driver and passenger then taken into custody on charges including felony altering/removing a serial number from a firearm and carrying a handgun in public. The driver also had a traffic-related warrant. Police identified the driver as Paulo Ivan Sanchez Lopez, 32, of Modesto and the passenger as Ricardo Axel Jimenez, 23, of Stockton. Both were originally booked at San Joaquin County Jail; further court action is anticipated.
