At about 12:52 am Tuesday morning, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a reported suspicious person in the 1100 block of South Soderquist Road, Turlock, after a man had been seen either passed out or sleeping in the caller’s front yard.
When deputies arrived on scene, they found a subject, later identified as David Albert Mercado, 48, of Modesto, in the back seat of a vehicle asleep. Next to Mercado, deputies saw what appeared to be an AR-15 assault rifle.
Additional assistance was requested, which included the Turlock Police Department, Modesto Police Department with a drone, and additional units from the sheriff’s office.
When assistance arrived on scene, deputies and officers conducted a high risk stop and began making announcements, ordering Mercado to exit the vehicle with his hands up. Mercado woke up but failed to comply with orders. This went on for several minutes.
Eventually, Mercado began cocking the item that appeared to be an AR-15 assault rifle. Deputies then began shooting Mercado with bean bag and pepper ball rounds, in an effort to get him to comply.
Eventually, Mercado exited his vehicle and surrendered. He was taken into custody without further incident.
The item that appeared to be an AR-15 assault rifle was then determined to be a BB gun.
Mercado was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on charges of resisting a peace officer.
