By Gina Yarbrough
Fallbrook, CA–A man was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon after Sheriff’s deputies discovered a loaded firearm during a traffic stop in Fallbrook.
The incident occurred around 2 p.m. when two deputies from the Fallbrook Sheriff’s Substation’s Crime Suppression Team pulled over a vehicle for a traffic violation in the 1100 block of South Vine Street.
As the vehicle came to a halt, two passengers exited the car and fled down a nearby alley. While one deputy remained with the driver, the second deputy pursued the fleeing suspects on foot. The chase led through a busy parking lot and across Main Street but was ultimately called off when the suspects split up, with one narrowly avoiding being struck by a vehicle. Both men remain at large.
The driver, identified as Michael Robledo, 44, was found in possession of illegal narcotics. Deputies also recovered a loaded handgun from the vehicle’s passenger compartment, along with drug paraphernalia and open containers of alcohol.
Robledo, a convicted felon, was arrested on multiple charges, including possession of a firearm by a felon and several narcotics-related offenses. He was booked into the Vista Detention Facility.
Authorities continue to search for the two passengers who fled the scene.
