Corning Police: Officers find discarded gun, arrest suspect who returned to look for it
Photo: Corning Police Department
Corning Police say a parolee is back in custody after being pulled over for speeding and later being found to have had a gun in his possession.
Just after 1 AM on Friday, October 2nd, a Corning Police officer pulled over 20-year-old Marco Mendoza of Sacramento along Interstate 5 for allegedly driving in excess of 100 MPH. Police say Mendoza initially pulled over to the side of the road, then accelerated and drove to a rest area a few hundred yards away.
Once there, the officer was able to search the vehicle, discovering a cloth that appeared to have recently been used as a gun holster. Mendoza, who is on CDC parole, was ultimately issued a citation and released.
Nonetheless, the officer suspected that Mendoza had thrown an object from the vehicle during the pursuit, and called CHP officers and Tehama County deputies for assistance in searching the area. They ended up finding a .40 caliber Glock loaded with a 22-round magazine on the shoulder of I-5 and confiscated it as evidence.
About an hour after clearing out, officers again responded to the area to investigate reports of three individuals walking the roadway with flashlights. Officers caught up with the three and discovered one of them was Mendoza, this time taking him into custody.
He remains housed at the Tehama County Jail on suspicion of multiple felony charges and parole violation.
