Shafter police turn traffic stop into felony arrests

Officers from the Shafter Police Department arrested three felons on drugs and weapons charges that began as a simple traffic stop.

According to Acting Chief Randy Mulligan, the officers were conducting a proactive patrol on the 300 block of East Lerdo Highway, officers observed an equipment violation and initiated a traffic stop.

The vehicle was occupied by three people, all of whom, later discovered, were all felons. The suspects were later identified as Cinthia Rizo, 40, of Bakersfield, and Javier Parada, 41, and Israel Gomez, 37, both from Shafter.

A search of the vehicle resulted in a loaded 9-millimeter firearm, along with associated ammunition and narcotics paraphernalia. All three persons in the vehicle were convicted felons, who are not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition. A closer look at the firearm revealed the serial number had been removed. All three people were arrested for felons in possession of a firearm, felons in possession of ammunition, conspiracy, alteration of a firearm's serial number, possession of narcotics paraphernalia and carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle

They were booked into the Kern County Sheriff's Office's Justice Receiving Facility.

The arrest is an example, said Mulligan, of the department's proactive approach in police procedure.