On Saturday, May 13th, 2023, at 9:43 pm, a Turlock Police officer near Target, 3000 Countryside Dr, Turlock, observed a man leave a parking lot and drive into a median crossover in the wrong direction, so he made a traffic stop on him.

The officer made contact with and identified the man as Blake Avila, 21, of Turlock.

During the stop, Avila told the officer that he had firearms in his vehicle, so he was removed from the vehicle and handcuffed.

The officer then conducted a probable cause search of Avila’s vehicle and located three firearms, a Taurus 9mm handgun, a Ruger .22 caliber handgun, and a Mossberg 12 gauge pump action shotgun.

The two handguns were determined to be unregistered, while the pump action shotgun was registered to Avila’s father.

Avila was arrested and released on a citation on the charge of openly carrying an unloaded handgun.