SAN BERNARDINO – San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies are searching for a man that escaped during a routine traffic stop in which a loaded handgun was discovered.
Two other men were arrested late Sunday night.
A loaded 9-millimeter handgun, reported to be stolen from Riverside, was found inside the vehicle that had been stopped for a vehicle code violation, according to law enforcement reports.
Deandre Jerome Patterson, 33, and Justin Ladelle Kinchen, 31, both of nearby Rialto, were taken into custody shortly before midnight.
The stop occurred at 40th Street and Electric Avenue. According to reports, the vehicle was slow to yield and the occupants were reported to be moving around inside the car.
While Patterson and Kinchen were detained, a third black male fled on foot and escaped capture. Law enforcement did not disclose whether or not they knew his identity.
When the suspect’s car was searched, the loaded 9mm handgun was discovered under the front passenger seat, according to reports. It was later reported the gun had been stolen from neighboring Riverside.
Patterson and Kinchen are being on charges of possessing a stolen handgun. They were booked into Central Detention Center.
Kinchen, who is due in San Bernardino Superior Court on Wednesday, was later charged with receiving stolen property and carrying a loaded handgun and not being the owner.
Patterson, scheduled for a San Bernardino Superior Court appearance, is being held on the same additional charges.
Both are being held on $25,000 bail.
