A traffic stop last week by Lathrop Police resulted in the recovery of a cache of firearms that included multiple illegal guns possessed by a suspect that was not legally authorized to have them.

According to the agency, officers conducted a “proactive” traffic stop on a vehicle that was being driven by a suspect that had search conditions from multiple previous cases – prompting officers to search the vehicle where they found firearms.

A search was also conducted on the suspect’s residence where additional guns, ammunition, and gun components – including lower receivers for semi-automatic handguns that can be paired with upper receivers that aren’t registered and can’t be traced – were discovered.

The suspect, whose name was not released, was booked in the San Joaquin County Jail on multiple weapons charges.

The case was another example of how something as simple as a traffic stop that yield much more than a simple moving violation – something that Lathrop Police officers have shown time and again since taking over patrol operations from the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office last summer.

And finding guns on the street hasn’t been a challenge for local law enforcement in the recent past.

Last year the Manteca Police Department was taking an illegal gun – either illegally modified or being carried by a prohibited person – off the street every other day.

 Other agencies, including the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office and the Lathrop Police Department that took over patrol operations in June of 2022, also publicized the number of guns that were being recovered from suspects during normal police operations.

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