Driver Arrested After Ghost Gun Found During North County Traffic Stop

VISTA, CA — A man was arrested after sheriff's deputies found a ghost gun in his car during a traffic stop in northern San Diego County, authorities said.

Deputies with the Vista Sheriff's Station Gang Enforcement Team stopped a white Ford sedan for equipment violations and expired registration shortly before 10:30 p.m. Friday near the 1900 block of West Vista Way in Vista, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Authorities said the driver, Michael Beason, 36, had a loaded privately made firearm.

"Unlike legal firearms, privately made firearms are not marked with serial numbers so there is no way to track their origins or their owners," a news release from the department said. "This makes it harder for law enforcement to investigate or solve a crime involving a privately made firearm."

Deputies planned to book Beason into the Vista Detention Facility on suspicion of possessing an undetectable firearm and other related firearms charges.