LAKEPORT, Calif. — Police have arrested two juveniles with gang connections on weapons charges.
The names of the two juveniles have not been released because of their ages.
The Lakeport Police Department reported that on Friday, Dec. 15, officers received a tip that there were images posted on a social media page of two juveniles who were posing with firearms.
The officers viewed the images and found them to be as reported. They showed the juveniles with common indicators of being associated with a criminal street gang, including specific items of clothing and displaying.
On that same day at approximately 1:42 p.m., Lakeport Police officers were dispatched to a report of shots fired at a residence in the 300 block of Armstrong Street — in a neighborhood located near the Lake County Fairgrounds — that was associated with the juveniles.
At the time of the officer’s response to this location, no additional shots were heard, police said.
Lakeport Police officers continued to investigate this case and gathered additional evidence that the two juveniles were in possession of firearms and were associated with criminal gang activity.
Officers applied for a search warrant for the address in the 300 block of Armstrong Street as well as two other addresses they were able to determine through their investigation that the juveniles commonly resided.
On Tuesday, Dec. 19, at approximately 10:45 a.m. before the service of the search warrant at the three locations, there was an additional shots fired call at the Armstrong Street address, police said.
Officers responded to the address and found one of the suspect juveniles leaving the location. This juvenile, a 16-year-old male out of Lakeport, had an unserved warrant for his arrest. The juvenile was arrested for his warrant at that time. No firearms were located on the juvenile when he was arrested, according to the police report
Police said the juvenile was subsequently transported to the Mendocino County Juvenile Hall by Lake County Probation.
At 1:30 p.m. that day, Lakeport Police officers, Lake County Sheriff’s detectives, Lake County Probation officers and investigators from the Lake County District Attorney’s Office responded to the three locations and simultaneously executed searches authorized under a warrant.
At the conclusion of the searches, police said two of the firearms the juveniles posed with in the images on social media were recovered as well as a box containing various rounds of ammunition.
One firearm was a Walther P22 .22 caliber pistol which had a laser pointer/flashlight attachment on it and the other was a .38 caliber revolver. The Walther P22 was found to be loaded at the time it was located. Police said there were also .22 caliber casings found at the location on Armstrong Street.
During the service of the search warrant, Lakeport Police officers received information that the other juvenile, a 17-year-old male, was somewhere in the Ukiah area. Officers contacted the Ukiah Police Department and briefed them on the nature of this case and the search warrant.
Lakeport Police officers also completed a probable cause declaration for the arrest of the other juvenile for a felony violation of being a minor in possession of a firearm.
At 5:30 p.m., Ukiah Police Officers located the other juvenile and placed them under arrest per the Lakeport Police officers’ probable cause declaration. The juvenile was also transported to the Mendocino County Juvenile Hall for booking.
Lakeport Police officers then completed a probable cause declaration for the 16-year-old who was arrested in Lakeport initially for the warrant for his arrest. The 16-year-old was charged with felony violations of being a minor in possession of a gun and negligent discharge of a firearm.
The Lakeport Police Department thanked its partners with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Lake County Probation Department, Lake County District Attorney’s Office and Ukiah Police Department for their assistance with this investigation and apprehension of the teen suspects.
Search warrant leads to arrest of two juveniles, recovery of firearms and ammunition
- Lake County News reports
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