Suspected DUI driver caught smoking pot behind the wheel, arrested with loaded ghost gun
SANTA ROSA -- Police in Santa Rosa arrested a DUI suspect late Friday who was allegedly driving drunk while smoking marijuana with a loaded "ghost gun" in his vehicle, according to authorities.
A release by the Santa Rosa Police Department said an officer patrolling the area of College Avenue and Mendocino Avenue saw a black colored Nissan Sentra traveling northbound on Mendocino Avenue. The officer noted several vehicle code violations and pulled the vehicle over.
The officer could smell the odor of alcohol and freshly burned marijuana coming from inside the vehicle and noted the driver -- identified as 27-year-old Santa Rosa resident Martel Nelson -- was displaying signs of alcohol and marijuana impairment. Officers conducted a DUI Investigation and he was arrested for driving under the influence.
During a search of Nelson's vehicle, a Polymer 80 Glock style 40-caliber ghost gun was found in a backpack. The firearm was loaded with thirteen rounds of ammunition, police said. Nelson was additionally charged with possession of an unregistered firearm, possession of a concealed firearm in a vehicle and possession of a loaded firearm in public. He was booked into the Sonoma County Jail.
