Person Flees Car With Fake Cash, Meth Chunk, Police Say

SANTA CRUZ, CA — The Santa Cruz Police Department handled incidents related to guns and drugs overnight Saturday.

Patrolling police saw a person run away from a car on Sycamore Street when officers arrived, police said. The car's registration was six months overdue and officers searched the vehicle, as they must ahead of a tow, police said.

Officers found a chunk of methamphetamine the size of a golf call and counterfeit $20 bills in plain sight, police said.

At 2:40 a.m. Saturday, police received a report of a driver in an Audi flashing a handgun.

Police stopped the car in the 700 block of Ocean Street, and two men and two women were removed from the car. Officers searched the car and found a loaded Ruger Revolver .357 Magnum, police said.

Driver and car owner Melvin Ganuza-Santos and passenger Jessica Martinez were arrested on suspicion of carrying a loaded and concealed gun, police said.

Maria Diaz Heredia was arrested on suspicion of charges related to her role in hiding the gun and Teodoro Gutierrez Gomez was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication, police said.