A Ripley man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of possessing a so-called “ghost gun” and methamphetamine.
Luis Mejia, 29, was pulled over by Colorado River Station Special Enforcement Team deputies on Thursday at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Intake Boulevard in Blythe for a California vehicle code violation.
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department officials said a records check revealed Mejia had outstanding arrest warrants and upon further searching, was discovered to be in possession of a loaded non-serialized handgun — considered a ghost gun for being untraceable — and methamphetamine.
Mejia was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Blythe Riverside County jail on $25,000 bail. He is expected to make his initial court appearance at the Larson Justice center in Indio as early as Monday.
Ghost guns, also known as kit guns or 80-percent guns, are virtually untraceable weapons that can be made at home using legally purchased parts to complete the 80% already assembled. They are sold at gun shows and online.
The unfinished parts are not required under federal law to have serial numbers or a background check to purchase.
Ghost guns were used during a 2013 shooting at Santa Monica College, in which six people, including the shooter, died; a series of shootings in Tehama County in 2017, in which five people died; and a 2019 shooting at Saugus High School, in which three students, including the shooter, were killed and three others were injured.
The ATF recovered 10,000 ghost guns in the U.S. in 2019, 2,700 of which were in California.