Two suspects practically drove themselves into the San Joaquin County Jail this week.

When San Joaquin County AGNET detectives noticed a strange car parked in the back lot of the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office in French Camp – having driven past the “restricted area” signs to get there – they ran the plates of the vehicle and caught that the plates belonged not to the Pontiac 4-door sedan they were in, but a Chevy SUV.

The two suspects, a male and a female, were detained while a search was conducted, and baggies containing a substance believed to be methamphetamine, two meth pipes, and a loaded Ruger pistol were discovered inside. Both suspects were arrested on gun and drug charges, and a records check determined that the female suspect had active warrants for her arrest.

When questioned by deputies, the female explained that they were there to pick up her son who was being released from custody.

And it wasn’t the first time that peace officers at the sheriff’s office complex didn’t have to venture very far to discover a crime.

Two years ago, correctional officers at the San Joaquin County Jail caught a woman trying to sneak methamphetamine into the jail facility through an in-person visit, and when they searched the woman’s car in the parking lot – which, unlike the criminals apprehended this week, was parked in the proper place – they found a host of other drugs.

That woman – and the other that tried the same thing the following month – arrived at the jail for a visit and ended up staying as guests.

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