Photo: some of the guns from this story
Originally published as a Vacaville Police Department Facebook post –
“Over the past few weeks, your officers have been busy working to keep our streets safe. Here are a few incidents they’ve worked to bring to a swift and safe conclusion.
On Friday, November 19th around 6pm, an officer stopped a car for front window tint and registration issues. As the vehicle came a stop the officer noticed the driver Sergio Barajas (23, Fairfield) reaching around in the back seat. Mr. Barajas did not have a valid driver’s license, complied with the officer’s commands and was safely detained.
Inside the vehicle, officers found an unregistered Glock 43x handgun under the back seat where Mr. Barajas was reaching just prior being contacted. He was booked into the Solano County Jail on various felony charges.
On Friday, December 19th around 8pm, dispatch received notification that a vehicle associated with a recently felony assault case involving Joseph Lee Smith (45, Richmond) had entered our city. An officer searched the area and found the vehicle unoccupied at a local gas station.
Officers waited for Mr. Smith (a convicted felon) to exit the convenience store where he complied with the officer’s commands and safely detained. Inside Mr. Smith’s car, officers found a loaded 10-round AR-15 magazine.
Intrigued, officers continued their search and found an AR-15 pistol hidden in the engine compartment (red arrow in photograph). Mr. Smith was booked into the Solano County Jail on various felony charges.
On Tuesday, January 4th around 11pm, an officer saw a man acting nervously near a parked vehicle. The officer noted various vehicle code violations, and waited a short distance away for the vehicle to leave, which it did shortly thereafter. The officer went to pull the vehicle over, and the driver took longer than usual to eventually stop, which at times, can be indicative of suspicious behavior.
The driver, Tyhiri Braswell (22, Oakland) did not have a valid driver license, and complied with the officers’ commands and was safely detained. Inside the car, very close to the driver’s seat, officers noticed a compartment that appeared tampered with and found a Glock 27 handgun with an extended magazine hidden inside.
The upper receiver of the gun had been reported stolen from Florida, and the other piece was an un-serialized P80 lower. Mr. Braswell was booked into the Solano County Jail on multiple felony charges.
On Wednesday, January 5th around 6pm an officer stopped a car due to its expired registration and learned the driver, Timothy Ford (49, Vallejo) did not have a valid driver’s license. The officers noticed Mr. Ford appeared extremely nervous and shaky, and pressed further.
They learned Mr. Ford had a gun concealed on his torso area and began to provide verbal commands, which Mr. Ford complied with. He was detained and a Beretta 70S handgun was safely recovered. Mr. Ford did not have a CCW permit and items believed to be heroin and prescription pills were also located in his possession. Mr. Ford was booked into the Solano County Jail on numerous felony charges.
About an hour later, around 7pm, another officer stopped a different vehicle due to window tint and registration issues and discovered the driver, Michael Williams (29, Vallejo) did not have a valid driver’s license.
He complied with the officer’s commands and was safely detained. Officers found an unregistered Glock 19 handgun with an extended magazine in a bag in the backseat. Mr. Williams had accessed his ID from the same bag while initially speaking with officers and was booked into the Solano County Jail on various felony charges.
On Wednesday, January 12th around 10:30pm officers were dispatched to a call regarding an altercation at an apartment where Davione Talton (24, Vacaville) reportedly struck another woman on the head numerous times with his handgun.
About an hour later, officers located Mr. Talton’s vehicle, where he complied with the officers’ commands and was safely detained. After additional investigation, officers learned Mr. Talton did not have a CCW permit, and his Glock 17 handgun was found in a bag in the vehicle. Mr. Talton was booked into the Solano County Jail on a variety of felony charges.
On Tuesday, January 18th around noon, officers multiple callers reported a hit-and-run had just occurred in the Markham area. A black Land Rover hit another vehicle and sped off. The Land Rover reportedly had front end damage. Officers checked all the surrounding areas, but were unable to locate the Land Rover.
Around 3pm dispatch began receiving calls about a reckless driver on Mason St. The vehicle was described as a black Land Rover with front end damage, and was last seen merging onto westbound I-80. An officer spotted the damaged SUV on westbound I-80 and noted it was driving erratically and losing pieces of bodywork. It ran into and skidded against the center median barriers for some time before finally stopping for officer in the center median area of the busy freeway.
The driver, Melvin Washington (33, Vallejo) was slow to respond to the officers’ commands but ultimately complied and was safely detained. Officers found evidence of drug sales and a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun in his belongings.
Mr. Washington has a lengthy criminal history with numerous prior violent felony convictions and was out on bail for a different felony charge at the time of this incident. He was also booked into the Solano County Jail on DUI charges, as well as a plethora of additional felony charges.
What’s the common element in all these incidents being quickly and safely resolved?
Compliance.
It makes a difference, and we are proud of the work our officers continue to do day in and day out. Stay safe Vacaville!
Media Inquiries:
Sgt. Miller – 707.469.4867 (Barajas)
MPO Casalnuovo – 707.449.5290 (Braswell, Smith, Ford, Washington)
MPO Martinez – 707.469.4837 (Talton)
