Santa Barbara police arrested four people at around 3 a.m. Saturday morning after officers pulled over their car for a routine traffic stop. One of the suspects — Ronald Contreras, 29 — is an area gang member out on parole for robbery. Another — Alvaro Pinedo, 27 — is on probation for vandalism and stalking. Also arrested were Jamie Gonzalez, 23, and Stephanie Herrera, 22.
Contreras was driving, and a search of the car turned up 17.2 grams of methamphetamine, 3.3 grams of marijuana, a meth pipe, a folding knife, and a loaded handgun. “The handgun was found underneath the front passenger seat of the vehicle [and] was accessible to all of the occupants,” said police spokesperson Sgt. Riley Harwood. Therefore, all four suspects were charged with firearm possession on top of various drug charges.
They were booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on bail amounts ranging from $100,000 to $35,000.