Crime & Safety

Suspect In Banning Break-In Found With Stolen Gun: Cops

A Hemet man found roaming through a Banning neighborhood after an attempted home break-in on Lattitude Road was found with a loaded weapon.

A Hemet man is behind bars, found with a stolen handgun belonging to a Virginia resident.
A Hemet man is behind bars, found with a stolen handgun belonging to a Virginia resident. (Banning Police Courtesy Photo)

BANNING, CA —A 29-year-old man suspected of trying to force his way into a Banning home while armed with a stolen handgun was being held Monday in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Douglas Sose Salazar of Hemet was arrested and booked into the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning Saturday on suspicion of possession of controlled substances while armed, possession of a stolen gun, concealing a firearm and receiving stolen property

According to the Banning Police Department, about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Salazar went to a residence in the 800 block of Latitude Road, near Raven Way, and allegedly tried pushing his way in through the front door.

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The attempt was unsuccessful, and the resident, whose name was not disclosed, called 911, after which Banning patrol units converged on the area, police said.

Salazar was spotted a short time later walking in a nearby neighborhood and was taken into custody without incident, according to investigators.

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Banning Police Photo

"During the contact, officers located a loaded semiautomatic handgun, 88 rounds of ammunition, a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia," according to a police statement. "The gun was reported to be stolen out of West Virginia."

The suspect may have been the same individual going door-to-door, harassing residents, earlier in the night, but authorities were not certain.

Background information on Salazar was not available, and there was no word on why he allegedly targeted the residence.