RIPON — A shoplifting call from the Flying J Truck Stop shortly before midnight Monday led to the arrest of a Waterford woman for being a felon in possession of a firearm and drugs, Ripon Police reported Tuesday.

First Sgt. Steve Merchant said that Margaret Kathlyn Tate, 44, was charged for possession of a firearm, carrying a loaded concealed weapon in a vehicle, possession of controlled substance paraphernalia, possession of dangerous drugs without a prescription and possession of marijuana.

Merchant said when officers arrived at the truck stop on Jack Tone Road, a clerk and a concerned citizen pointed out a woman they felt was acting suspiciously who had reportedly placed an item in a green 1990 Toyota Four-Runner parked outside the business. 

Officers said Tate denied having a vehicle in the parking lot, however she later admitted that her personal items were inside the nearby Toyota.  She was reportedly on searchable probation that allowed police to search the vehicle.

Sgt. Merchant applauded the business operators and citizens that took a felon with access to drugs and a loaded weapon off the street.

Tate is being held at the San Joaquin County Jail in French Camp in lieu of $159,000 bail.  She is scheduled to appear in the Manteca Branch of the San Joaquin County Superior Court on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.