The Riverside County Sheriff's Department arrested three documented criminal street gang members and seized three loaded handguns Wednesday night as a result of a routine traffic stop, according to a county news release.
Deputies were on patrol in Coachella at 5 p.m. when they attempted to perform a traffic stop and met resistance from the driver. In the high-risk stop that followed, deputies not only detained the occupants of the vehicle but discovered their identity as gang members, the news release said.
"Patrol deputies assigned to the City of Coachella and the Coachella Community Action Team (CCAT) were conducting proactive patrol throughout the City of Coachella," Deputy Sgt. Mariano Matos III said Thursday in the release. "Deputies conducted a traffic enforcement stop at Douma Street and Damascus Avenue. When the occupants of the vehicle failed to comply with deputies’ commands, deputies transitioned to a high-risk stop."
The Sheriff's Department identified the previously documented criminal street gang members, all of Indio, as Rene Moran, 23; Jaime Mejia, 23; and Raider Chavez, 18. Additionally, Moran was found to be on active California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) parole with search terms. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, officers located and seized three loaded 9mm handguns, the release said.
All three men have been arrested on weapons charges and booked at the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio. According to the release, Moran was charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition, possession of a concealed firearm, possession of an unregistered firearm, providing a false name to a peace officer and violation of CDCR parole.
Mejia was charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition, possession of a concealed firearm and possession of an unregistered firearm. Finally, the youngest, Chavez, was charged with possession of a concealed firearm and an unregistered firearm.