From Bill Lindelof:
Within seven hours Monday, Sacramento police suspect that three people in separate situations hid weapons from them in an effort to avoid gun charges.
One gun found was wrapped and hidden in a towel. Another was tossed in a yard in the course of a police pursuit. A third was thrown into ivy where police recovered it.
"Most of the time the guns are seized because they are stolen weapons or they are evidence, having been used in committing a crime," said Officer Konrad Von Schoech, a Sacramento Police Department spokesman.
In the first instance, officers responded to a family disturbance in which a handgun reportedly was brandished. The suspect left before officers arrived.
About 12:45 p.m. in the 3300 block of 19th Avenue in Oak Park, officers found the suspect's vehicle. After detaining several suspects, police said a man was observed running to a back yard and hiding something in a yellow towel.
Police said they found a loaded handgun inside the towel. They arrested Tyree Maurice Watkins, 27, on suspicion of committing three felonies, including possession of a firearm by an ex-felon or addict.
In the second incident, at 4:33 p.m., officers said they tried to stop Ryan Moreno, 33, near Los Robles Boulevard and High Street in the Hagginwood neighborhood. Police said Moreno, who had outstanding warrants, was chased and caught.
Returning to the yard where Moreno is said to have begun his sprint, police found a loaded gun in some ivy. He was arrested on suspicion of carrying loaded firearms and other charges.
At 7:42 p.m., officers attempted to stop a car near Sonoma Avenue and Callecita Street in the Hagginwood neighborhood. As soon as police switched on the squad car overhead lights, the suspect vehicle slowed and a man bolted from the car.
Trailing the fleeing man in their car as he ran, police eventually captured the suspect. A search of the yard near where he was caught revealed a loaded handgun.
Michael Sengphinith, 22, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and other gun charges.
Von Schoech said officers know that even the most routine police call can turn deadly.
"It is dangerous out there, and we have to be on alert," he said. "We have to consider that the people who we contact may be armed and may use that weapon against us."
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