Man with replica gun arrested on Santa Cruz beach

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) A man was arrested by Santa Cruz police Wednesday for allegedly carrying an altered replica gun on a beach.

Police responded to reports of a man with a gun apparently sticking out of his backpack and acting strangely. When they arrived, they found a man matching the description with a gun handle sticking out of his backpack.

Officers said he was walking on the beach near the wharf while drinking from a bottle of vodka.

The man, 30-year-old Kylan Moreland, complied when officers asked him to put the backpack down, but they said he was still drinking from the vodka bottle. The gun was a replica, but police said the orange tip, which is used to indicate that a gun is not real, was removed so it would appear real.

Police said Moreland was arrested for having an altered replica gun and public intoxication.