SANTA ROSA – The four teenagers driving in a black Honda accord may have not drawn any attention to themselves if they had been acting normal. But it was nearly midnight on Saturday, December 6, when a resident of the east Santa Rosa neighborhood near the corner of Sea Wolf and Charmian Drives saw them parked on the street, and they looked and acted very suspiciously.
The resident of the neighborhood, which is near Douglas Whited Elementary School, had not seen the car around before. In addition to that, the four people inside were seen ducking down in the car as if hiding, perhaps from passers-by or the infrequent car driving through. The resident called police to allay their concerns that something was up with this group.
The gun and metal knuckles found in the car.
When the officers arrived, according to the Santa Rosa Police, the four once again tried to duck and hide, perhaps hoping this was just another car passing by. But of course the officers knew what they were looking for, and approached the car with bright flashlights. The four youngsters, all teenagers, acted nervous, and when brought out of the car, gave conflicting and confusing explanations for their presence in the area.
The officers asked if they could search the car, and the driver, perhaps regretting it later, gave them his permission. They turned up two weapons – a loaded .38 Special revolver, and a set of metal knuckles. The officers suspected the gun was stolen as they could not confirm legal ownership.
The driver of the car was identified as 19-year-old Christian Abrica, a resident of central/east Santa Rosa, about 6 miles from the scene near the Coddington Mall. He admitted to possessing and having purchased the gun. He was arrested for having a loaded firearm in a vehicle, possessing an unregistered firearm, and metal knuckles.
Of his three companions, two other 19-year-olds were not found to be in any violation, and their parents were contacted to take them home. The other was a 17-year-old who was identified (but not named due to being a minor) as one who was recently arrested for bringing a Taser to a local high school campus. He was detained as part of the investigation.
The police said they encourage anyone seeing suspicious activity to never hesitate to call them to report it.
