Deputies: Covelo man had loaded weapons in vehicle while under the influence
A Mendocino County man has been arrested on numerous felony charges including being under the influence while armed and carrying a loaded firearm in public or a vehicle, according to a Sheriff’s Department press release.
Just before 3 AM on Thursday, June 4, deputies investigating an unrelated incident came across two vehicles that appeared to have been in an accident.
As they approached, the deputies recognized one of the vehicle occupants as 39-year-old Negie Fallis IV of Covelo, whom they also knew to be on Post-Release Community Supervision.
When they got out of their cars and approached on foot, Fallis — who turned out to be the only person in the vehicle — reportedly began backing his truck away in what appeared to be an attempt to flee the scene.
Deputies followed him on foot as he backed into the driveway of a nearby residence. Eventually, there was nowhere else to go and he was forced to stop. He then appeared to reach down toward the floorboards, prompting deputies to draw their guns and order him out of the vehicle out of concern that he was reaching for a weapon.
Fallis finally got out of the truck after numerous verbal commands and was thereafter arrested without incident.
Per the terms of Fallis’ PRCS status, deputies searched his vehicle and ended up finding a glass meth pipe, a loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic Glock which they later learned had been reported stolen, and a loaded Ruger Mini-14 rifle that had been converted into an assault rifle.
Fallis, who was determined to be under the influence of a controlled substance, was later booked at the Mendocino County Jail on $75,000 bond.
