Parolee arrested for gun possession, serial numbers scratched out

The Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team Gang Task Force were on routine gang suppression patrol late Thursday afternoon in an apartment complex on Main Street when officers spotted a suspected gang member who they knew was on parole for possessing a gun.

25-year-old Oscar Espinoza had a loaded firearm hidden inside his car officers say and the gun’s serial number had been altered was not readable.

Espinoza was arrested for various violations, including being a felon in possession of a loaded, concealed firearm, possession of a firearm with an altered serial number and for gang enhancements.

This marks the 26th firearm seized by the Gang Task Force in 2014 and the 77th since 2012.