Marina man arrested with over 10 guns and narcotics
MARINA, Calif. (KION-TV)-- A search warrant was issued after a car accident uncovered an illegal ghost gun and a search of the suspect's home uncovered an arsenal of weapons and drugs.
On March 28, at around 5:38 p.m. Marina Police arrived at a call of a reckless vehicle in a traffic collision at the 400 block of California Avenue.
During the investigation of one of the involved drivers, it was found that suspect Daniel John Wetle, 40, had an illegal AR-15 ghost weapon hidden in his car.
A follow-up search was done at Westle's Marina home and several handguns, assault weapons, around 1,000 Xanax-style pills, over a pound of cocaine, other narcotics and a large amount of cash.
Westle was arrested in Monterey County Jail on a no-bail warrant.
“Ghost guns, untraceable firearms without serial numbers, assembled from components bought online are quickly becoming a major problem as they are disproportionately affecting day-to-day gun violence in communities of color across the country. They are increasingly becoming the lethal weapon of easy access for those legally barred from buying or owning guns around the country. In our major cities in California, ghost guns accounted for 25 to 50 percent of firearms recovered at crime scenes. In our smaller cities and towns, we are seeing an increase in these weapons in the hands of people who should not own a weapon. Our laws need to be changed to treat ghost guns as traditional firearms. Ghost guns should be required to be engraved with serial numbers, and owners should be required to have to pass background checks, including requiring online purchasers to use federally licensed gun shops, in the same manner that we treat traditional firearms. warrant.
Add to this the drug epidemic in our communities involving the overdose of our youth and community members from these illegal narcotics that contain fentanyl. The people dying daily from ghost guns involved in gun violence and fentanyl laced narcotics are your neighbors, friends, sons, and daughters. We need real solutions to both these problems and less rhetoric.”
Marina Police Chief Tina Nieto
