Aromas man arrested with numerous firearms, drugs

A convicted felon in Aromas is accused of possessing six illegal firearms, including one that had been stolen from Seattle.

Watsonville police began an investigation into the suspected sale of methamphetamine in the city by Hector Rocha. They were able to obtain a search warrant for Rocha’s home in Aromas.

Monday, Watsonville police, accompanied by a California Highway Patrol K9 officer, served the search warrant at Rocha’s residence. There they found three semi-automatic pistols, a shotgun, an illegal sawed-off rifle and a banned assault rifle with large capacity magazines. A number of the guns were loaded.

Rocha, 34, is a convicted felon and cannot legally possess firearms. Police also found gang indicia and evidence of narcotic sales and illegal firearm transactions.

Rocha was arrested on suspicion of illegally possessing firearms, possession of a stolen firearm, child endangerment and other weapons-related charges. He was booked into Monterey County Jail in lieu of $300,000 bail.