Turlock man fell asleep behind the wheel with an automatic rifle in his vehicle

A 44-year-old Turlock man faces up to three years in the Stanislaus County Jail for illegal gun possession after he was found asleep in his vehicle with an automatic rifle.

A jury last week convicted Jeremy Robert Mode of felony charges involving the illegal possession of a fully automatic gun and being a felon in possession of a gun, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday on its Facebook page.

Mode remains free on a $50,000 bail bond posted two days after his arrest, according to Stanislaus Superior Court records. Judge Shawn Bessy has scheduled Mode to return to court March 11 for his sentencing.

Prosecutors said Mode reportedly fell asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle in Turlock on April 10, 2017. They said police officers responded to the scene and found him passed out in the driver’s seat with his foot on the brake.

Inside the vehicle, police found what prosecutors described as “AR-15 style rifle.” They said ammunition and ammunition magazines also were found in the vehicle’s passenger compartment.

A firearms expert examined the rifle and confirmed the weapon could fire multiple shots with one pull of the trigger; it’s a felony to possess such a gun in California, according to prosecutors.

In 1994, Mode was convicted of felony burglary in Merced County. Prosecutors said that burglary conviction included a lifetime ban against him possessing guns or ammunition.

This story was originally published February 14, 2019 at 12:29 PM.