Illegal 'Zip Guns' Found In Banning

BANNING, CA — The Banning Police Department reported Monday that it has made recent arrests involving inexpensive but potentially lethal "zip guns."

"A zip gun is a homemade firearm that is usually made from improvised parts and is most often capable of firing a single shot," the department reported.

Zip guns are illegal in California.

Shortly after 6:30 a.m. March 18, convicted felon Jesse Pellum, 34, was taken into custody after he was discovered to have a steel zip gun and other deadly weapons, according to police.

"The zip gun was loaded with a 12-gauge shotgun shell," police said.

Jail records show Pellum was booked on suspicion of a felon possessing a firearm, felon possessing ammunition, possessing a zip gun, and vandalism. He was released from jail March 22 in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Court records for Pellum were not immediately available; jail records show he is due to appear in court May 5.

Two other people with criminal backgrounds were found with a zip gun last month, according to police.

Ryan Carpenter, 27, and April Vega, 35, were arrested around 5:30 p.m. March 22 in the 1100 block of W. Westward Street in Banning following a probation compliance search that turned up a zip gun and other weapons, according to police.

Carpenter is a convicted felon and Vega is a probationer, police said.

Jail records show Carpenter was arrested on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, possessing a billy club, possessing a zip gun, misdemeanor theft and misdemeanor battery. He was released from custody March 28 in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Vega was arrested on suspicion of violating probation and was released from custody March 31, according to jail records.

Court records were not immediately available for the pair.

There was no indication from police that the arrests of Carpenter and Vega were connected to Pellum.