Santa Rosa police arrest suspected gang member for weapons possession

(BCN) — Police in Santa Rosa on Wednesday arrested an alleged gang member for suspected weapons crimes, the department said.

A search warrant was served at 1 p.m. in the 1600 block of Elmwood Terrace, police said. At the residence, officers allegedly discovered a 9mm handgun loaded with a 30-round magazine.

Police also said they found a Glock switch, which attaches to a gun’s slide to make it fully automatic. Officers also allegedly found ammunition and gang-related paraphernalia.

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Arrested on suspicion of various illegal weapon crimes was Matteo Ramirez-Sandoval, 19, of Santa Rosa. Ramirez-Sandoval was booked on suspicion of possession of a machine gun, possession of a non-serialized firearm, being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, and a gang enhancement.

In December, Santa Rosa police said the number of juveniles arrested in possession of firearms soared 500 percent in 2023, and they blame the increase on gang violence.

Twenty-one youths were arrested for possessing guns in 2023, compared with just four in 2022. Five of Santa Rosa’s nine homicides last year were gang-related, police said.

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