Photo: Arturo F. Avila
BERKELEY — Have guns, will travel. A man cruising around with weapons and illicit drugs in his car was arrested just a few days ago. His latest travel misadventures started with a traffic stop.
It turns out his license plate does not match with state records. Given this mismatch, the officer searched the man.
Avila’s stash
Within seconds, the officer found a loaded handgun concealed inside the man’s waistband. Upon further inspection, the officer determined this gun is homemade from polymer. Not surprisingly, this gun is unregistered and has no serial number.
After confiscating the handgun, officers went on to search the man’s car, where they located more weapons. Authorities recovered these weapons, along with some suspected methamphetamine.
Not long after midnight on May 5, this driver identified as Arturo F. Avila, 36 of Berkeley, was on his way to jail. After spending a few hours inside Berkeley City Jail, Avila was transferred to Santa Rita Jail, located in Dublin.
Back in Berkeley, authorities obtained a warrant to search Avila’s residence. Inside, police found high-capacity magazines, another handgun, and additional ammunition.
As it stands now, Avila remains in custody in lieu of $230,000 bond. His next scheduled travel date will be a pretrial hearing on May 13.
Currently, Avila is accused of committing several weapons- and drug-related felonies. However, this is not the first time Avila is having trouble with the law. His arrest dossier includes prior arrests for narcotics possession, assault, and battery.
