During an off-road patrol near Mortensen Road in South Manteca on Saturday San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested a local man legally barred from possessing a firearm after they discovered an illegal short-barreled rifle in his vehicle. 

Joshua Wierzbicki, 30, was seen parked on private property at the end of the rural county road in a black Acura Integra, and when officers stopped to talk to him learned that he was a convicted felon on searchable probation. A search of the vehicle returned a “.300 Blackout AR style short-barreled rifle” that was equipped with a homemade silencer as well as a 30-round magazine that contained five rounds of ammunition. Wierzbicki was taken into custody without incident. 

Wierzbicki was booked into the San Joaquin County Jail and charged with counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of an illegally-modified firearm, possession of a silencer and being a felon in possession of ammunition. He is currently being held on $320,000 bail and is set to appear in Department 1 of the Manteca branch of the San Joaquin County Superior Court today at 1:25 p.m. to answer to the charges. 

Located in South Manteca off of Airport Road, Mortensen Road is a county-maintained road that provides access to private property that abuts the San Joaquin River. San Joaquin County Sherriff’s Deputies occasionally patrol that part of the county at the request of property owners who have noticed an increase in crime or illegal access. Officers use off-road vehicles to get into areas that most vehicles can’t access. Since taking over the department earlier this year, Sherriff Pat Withrow has created a specialized task force that will address rural and agricultural crimes. 

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.