Driver arrested after CHP officer finds drugs, gun during traffic stop near Mendota

California Highway Patrol officers arrested the driver a vehicle during a stop near Mendota after an officer and K-9 discovered narcotics and a gun inside the vehicle.

At about 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 7, a CHP officer stopped a 2021 Chrysler Voyager along northbound Interstate 5 near Russell Avenue for alleged speeding and tailgating violations, according to Merced-area CHP Officer Eric Zuniga.

During the stop, the officer reportedly noticed factors which led him to believe the driver of the vehicle, identified as 37-year-old Christian Johnson of Lacey Wash., was engaged in criminal activity.

According to a CHP social media post, CHP K-9 Beny was used to conduct an exterior sniff of the vehicle and alerted the officer to the odor of narcotics.

During a search of the vehicle, officers located about 20 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms, a loaded handgun, 5.5 pounds of methylenedioxyamphetamine or MDA, cannabis concentrate and about $30,000 in US currency, according to authorities.

Johnson was arrested and booked into Fresno County Jail on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance, possession of a loaded firearm while in possession of narcotics and carrying a concealed firearm inside a vehicle, according to the CHP.

Authorities said the charges have been forwarded to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office for review.