Police: Merced gang member arrested with gun, drugs

A suspected gang member from Merced was arrested late Sunday after he abandoned an allegedly stolen vehicle and left behind a loaded firearm, ammunition and about two ounces of methamphetamine, the Police Department reported.

Cheng Her, 30, was captured shortly after 11:38 p.m., while allegedly hiding from police at a home in the area of West Childs Avenue and South G Street, Merced police said in a news release.

A police officer spotted a green Honda parked in the first block of G Street and said the man in the driver’s seat, later identified by authorities as Her, ran from the vehicle when he saw the officer.

Police said the vehicle and the license plate had recently been reported as stolen.

Officers said they found a loaded 9mm firearm, two large-capacity magazines and 57 rounds of 9mm ammunition inside the vehicle, along with about two ounces of crystal methamphetamine.

Her was booked in the Merced County Jail on suspicion of being a convicted violent felon in possession of loaded firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of a controlled substance while armed with a firearm and possession of stolen property.

Police said Her was released from custody Sept. 16, 2014 under the conditions of AB 109, also known as the California Prison Realignment Act. The hotly debated act, passed in 2011, transferred responsibility of certain nonviolent, nonsexual, less serious offenders from the state prison systems to the county jails.

Her was wearing an ankle monitor at the time of his arrest, police said.

He remained in custody Monday morning on $360,000 bail, according to booking records.

This story was originally published April 27, 2015 at 6:18 AM with the headline "Police: Merced gang member arrested with gun, drugs."