SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The San Diego County Sheriff's Department says it arrested a 19-year-old man in Vista after deputies found a ghost gun during a traffic stop.
Deputies say the arrest happened around 10:30 a.m. Thursday, in the 700 block of North Santa Fe Ave. The department's Gang Enforcement Team for the Vista Sheriff's Station pulled the teen over for not having a license plate on the motorcycle he was riding.
The suspect ran into a restaurant to try to get away from the deputies after he pulled over, according to the press release. The deputies quickly found him and arrested him without incident.
During the arrest, deputies found a ghost gun and a loaded magazine on the man's person.
"Unlike legal firearms, ghost guns are not marked with serial numbers," the department's press release says. "There is no way to track their origins or their owners making it harder for law enforcement to investigate or solve a crime."
Alan Altamirano was the teen deputies arrested. He was booked into the Vista Detention Facility and faces charges of possessing an illegal firearm and ammunition, resisting an officer and carrying a concealed weapon.
Deputies say Altamirano was released on a $50,000 bail.
According to the sheriff's department, the Vista Sheriff's Station has taken 21 ghost guns off the street throughout 2023. The Gang Enforcement Team took most of those guns.
