Felon arrested for gun possession and negligent discharge of a firearm-Passenger arrested for warrants and resisting arrest

On September 19, 2021 at about 11:15 P.M., Santa Rosa Police Officers responded to the 1400 block of West Ave for a report of unknown suspect(s) arriving in a vehicle and shooting a firearm into the air. The suspect(s) left in the vehicle before Officers arrived.

Through their investigation, officers identified a suspect vehicle registered to an address in Santa Rosa several miles from the incident near Kerney St and Harwood St. One of the officers conducted surveillance at this location and at about 12:51 A.M., the suspect vehicle arrived, and the officer made a traffic stop on it. Once stopped, the passenger immediately fled from the vehicle on foot and ran away from the stop. Another responding officer quickly took the passenger into custody.

The driver of the vehicle was detained, and a search of the vehicle revealed a loaded Smith and Wesson .38 special caliber revolver. Spent shell casings were also located in the vehicle.

The driver was identified as Manual Avina, a 27-year-old Santa Rosa resident. He was on probation for a felony weapons charge. Avina was arrested for the following charges:

PC 246.3-Negligent Discharge of a Firearm (Felony)
PC 25400-Concealed Firearm (Felony)
PC 29800(a)(1)-Felon in Possession of a Firearm (Felony)
PC 1203.2- Violation of Probation (Felony).

The passenger was identified as Eliseo Martinez-Zepeda, a 28-year-old Santa Rosa resident. He was arrested for the following charges:

PC 148(a)(1)-Resisting / Obstructing a Peace Officer (Misdemeanor)
PC 1203.2-Violation of Probation (Misdemeanor)
3 outstanding arrest warrants (Misdemeanor).

Both suspects were booked into the Sonoma County Jail.