Drugs, guns, $100K in cash discovered during Stockton traffic stop on Christmas Eve
STOCKTON — California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers found an unregistered gun, drugs and around $100,000 in cash during a traffic stop in Stockton on Christmas Eve, the agency said Thursday.
Elisandro Rios, 41, of the city of Lakewood in Los Angeles County, was booked into the San Joaquin County Jail.
Officers with CHP Stockton pulled Rios over on December 24 near Benjamin Holt Drive on the west side of Interstate 5, which is one of California's major arteries that connects Northern and Southern California.
Rios was detained when the officers determined he provided them with a fake name. Once the officers learned his real name, it was discovered Rios had active warrants for his arrest.
While searching his vehicle, the officers observed signs of drug trafficking, the CHP said. A narcotics K9 from the Tracy Police Department was requested and alerted officers to multiple areas inside Rios' vehicle, where they located 2 pounds of drugs, an estimated $100,000 in cash, and the unregistered gun that was equipped with a silencer.
Rios faces several weapons- and drug-related charges as well as charges of providing false information and falsely identifying himself to law enforcement.