DUI Suspect Snoozing With Loaded Gun, Cocaine Arrested Christmas Morning: Police

SONOMA COUNTY, CA – A man was arrested in Santa Rosa early Christmas morning after a police officer saw him sleeping in his car with a gun next to him, police said.

At about 4:45 a.m., a passerby flagged down an officer in the 2100 block of W. Steele Lane, near the train tracks, to alert him to a possibly intoxicated man in a car.

The sleeping man was 24-year-old Santa Rosa resident Carlos Casillas, police said.

The officer allegedly saw a handgun in the passenger area of the car, within reach of Casillas.

A second officer providing backup opened the car door and grabbed the gun without waking Casillas, police said.

When the officers awoke Casillas and tried to detain him, he allegedly resisted arrest.

Police grabbed him and pulled him out of the car, but he tried to break free of their grasp and escape, police said. The officers took Casillas down to the ground and handcuffed him, at which point he stopped resisting.

Officers found a "usable amount" of cocaine in Casillas' pants pocket, police said. The gun was a 7.65 mm handgun with an attached magazine and was loaded with live rounds of ammunition.

Casillas was booked into the county jail on suspicion of obstructing or resisting a police officer by force, driving under the influence and possession of a loaded firearm in public and a controlled substance.

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