Menu of Charges for Felon Found with Firearms
Sergio Ivan Soto, 30
To get your bail up into the quarter-million-dollar range, it helps if you’ve got a felony record and can be charged with:
1. Possession of an assault rifle
2. Transportation of an assault rifle
3. Gang affiliate in possession of a firearm
4. Felony possession of ammunition
5. Possession of stolen property
6. Possession of methamphetamine
7. Possession of drug paraphernalia
8. Providing false information to a peace officer
9. Driving a vehicle with fraudulent registration tabs.
And that’s exactly what Sergio Ivan Soto, 30, a known associate of an Oxnard area criminal street gang, was charged with when he was spotted driving through downtown Santa Barbara in the late afternoon of May 2nd. While enjoying the sights of Santa Barbara, Soto was—according to Santa Barbara Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Riley Harwood—recognized by a member of the SBPD’s Criminal Impact Team as someone currently sought on a felony forgery warrant. “The officer followed Soto’s vehicle, noticing that it was displaying fraudulent registration tabs,” Harwood reported to the media, whereupon a traffic stop was performed and contact with Soto was made.
AK-47 rifle found in Soto's vehicle
Pursuant to a conversation with the officer at the time, Soto provided false information as to his true identity, which aroused further suspicion leading to a search of his vehicle which revealed methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, evidence of ongoing forgeries, and identification and banking records not belonging to Mr. Soto. And, as one thing often leads to another, the officer then opened the trunk of the vehicle and discovered, as Harwood described in his report to the media, “a semi-automatic AK-47 rifle with a collapsible stock, fourteen-inch barrel, and detachable thirty-round magazine loaded with 7.62X39 mm ammunition.” The fact that the firearm was not registered in the name of Mr. Soto undoubtedly came as no surprise, and he was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail with his bail set at $250,000.
Photos Courtesy: Santa Barbara County Jail Booking, Santa Barbara Police Department
Read More:
Santa Barbara Independent: Convicted Felon Arrested With AK-47
NBC News: Felon arrested for possessing AK-47 assault rifle
EdHat: Sergio Ivan Soto Arrested
