A man with a pending trial on an evading-arrest charge was taken into custody once again outside court in the San Fernando Valley by Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies on Wednesday, according to station officials.
The 31-year-old Acton man who’s also a suspect in a separate, active investigation, was tracked down by detectives outside a courthouse in San Fernando at 9 a.m., according to Sheriff’s Department officials.
“The wanted person is a convicted felon on active parole with a warrant for his arrest for evading law enforcement,” according to an email from Natalie Arriaga, spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station.
However, after deputies found him and his wife inside a black Dodge Durango — and both denied arriving to court in a personal vehicle, according to Arriaga — the pair became uncooperative and deputies with the station’s Crime Impact Team investigated, executing a search warrant.
Deputies reported finding an unserialized, loaded handgun, which is also referred to as a “ghost gun,” as well as an additional handgun.
The husband was arrested for an outstanding warrant, as well as on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle in a public place and carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle.
The wife was arrested on suspicion of carrying a loaded handgun not being the owner, carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle in a public place, and carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, Arriaga noted.
The woman was later released on bond. The man is currently being held in lieu of $1 million bail, according to Sheriff’s Department records available online.
During a prior encounter with SCV law enforcement, officers believe the suspect ditched a vehicle in Canyon Country after they reported seeing him driving erratically on Highway 14 and then unsuccessfully tried to pull him over, as he did not yield.
He was later tracked down outside of the county by deputies with the station’s Career Offenders, Burglary Robbery Arson unit, or COBRA, which is primarily focused on gang-related crimes.