Atwater gang member, 46, accused of firearm possession after search, police say
A 46-year old Atwater man whom police identified as a gang member was arrested Saturday on suspicion of possessing several firearms.
A Merced Police Department Gang Unit Officer was reported to have obtained information that Jose Gutierrez had access to several firearms in his home. Gutierrez is a known gang member, according to police.
Officers were able to stop Gutierrez about 10:30 a.m. as he was leaving his home and served a search warrant for the residence.
While officers had Gutierrez detained on the traffic stop, a family member, Sukhkiran Kaur Cheema, 23, arrived on the scene. Officers had a warrant for Cheema’s vehicle, and they located a loaded 9 mm handgun next to her driver’s seat.
Officers went back to search Gutierrez and Cheema’s home in the 2000 block of Chadala Court in Atwater and said they located a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle and a .45 caliber handgun.
Gutierrez was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person and was taken to the Merced County Jail. Gutierrez’s bond is set at $150,000, according to jail records.
Cheema was arrested and cited on suspicion of possession of a concealed loaded firearm in a vehicle.
Merced police are asking anyone with any information regarding this crime to contact Officer Arnulfo Centeno at 209-388-7742 or by email at CentenoA@CityofMerced.org.
