Guns, knives and drugs discovered in traffic stop near county fair, Turlock police say
A traffic stop near the Stanislaus County Fair led to the arrests of two men on weapon and drug charges, police said.
It happened at about 7 p.m. Friday, two hours into the fair’s opening night, a news release from the Turlock Police Department said. It provided these further details:
A motorcycle officer was patrolling near the fairgrounds when he spotted a Honda Civic speeding on West Canal Drive. He pulled over the car in the parking lot of the Turlock Town Center on North Golden State Boulevard.
The officer detained passenger Alexis Jimenez, 19, of Turlock after seeing “a large amount of marijuana and ammunition in plain view in the car.” A pat-down search yielded a dagger and loaded handgun on Jimenez and a switchblade on driver Victor Roman, 22, of Turlock.
Officers found eight more firearms during a search of the car, including a .22 semiautomatic rifle, two AR-15 style rifles, a shotgun and four handguns. They also seized “hundreds of rounds of ammunition, dozens of pills believed to be fentanyl, approximately 3.5 ounces of marijuana, Xanax pills and items associated with sales of narcotics.”
Both men remained in the Stanislaus County jail as of Monday evening. Bail was set at $285,000 for Roman and $60,000 for Jimenez.
Roman’s charges include possession of narcotics for sale, illegal assault weapons, a concealed and unregistered firearm, a high-capacity magazine, more than an ounce of marijuana, and a switchblade.
Jimenez faces charges that include possession of a concealed dagger, a loaded and concealed firearm in public, and more than an ounce of marijuana.
“This incident started as a traffic stop for Vehicle Code violations and turned into much, much more,” said Capt. Miguel Pacheco, the field operations commander, in the release. “Between the seizure of the firearms and fentanyl, we will never know how many lives were saved.”
Anyone with information about the case can call Officer Richard Fortado at 209-664-7399 or the department’s tip line at 209-668-5550, ext. 6780.
This story was originally published July 11, 2022 at 8:14 PM.
