Originally published as a Santa Cruz Police Facebook post –
“In the early hours of 3/7/2022, Officer Gutierrez was proactively patrolling near the Beach Flats neighborhood when he spotted a subject, among a group of out-of-town gangsters, who recently flashed a handgun with an extended magazine in our community. Officers safely and efficiently detained all the involved parties from the Central Valley. Officer Gutierrez recovered the loaded gun inside Richard Garcia’s vehicle during a probation search.
SCPD arrested Richard Garcia, a 20-year-old from Merced, for Carrying a loaded firearm in a public place, Felon in possession of a Firearm, Felon in Possession of Ammunition & large-capacity magazine.
This was another excellent proactive enforcement by our officers, which most likely stopped another crime from occurring and took another firearm off the streets of Santa Cruz.”
