Hollister
– A Hollister man was arrested after deputies pulled him over
and found a black, pistol-gripped, sawed-off shotgun in his
vehicle.
Hollister – A Hollister man was arrested after deputies pulled him over and found a black, pistol-gripped, sawed-off shotgun in his vehicle.
Jerry Trent Finuf, 38, was arrested by San Benito County sheriff’s deputies on several felony weapon possession charges and one charge of possessing controlled substance paraphernalia.
Deputies arrested Finuf after stopping him in his pickup truck at the intersection of Central Avenue and Hodges Alley at 4:10pm Thursday.
Lt. Roy Iler said he found the illegal shotgun in a DeWalt power saw case in the bed of the pickup.
A weapon of this kind has few practical purposes, Iler said.
“The gun is good for one thing – and that’s shooting people,” he said.
Sawed-off shotguns have a shorter range, wider spread and just as much power as a regular shotgun. The addition of a pistol grip instead of a regular shoulder stock makes the weapon easier to conceal, Iler said.
Deputies were glad to get such a weapon off the streets, and Iler said such a find is rare.
Iler and Sheriff’s Det. John Pena were southbound on Line Street in an unmarked patrol car when they saw Finuf’s white pickup turn onto Central Avenue, deputies said. After noticing that the truck had expired license tags, they pulled him over.
After an identity check returned an outstanding misdemeanor warrant from 2004 for Finuf, Pena placed him under arrest. While searching Finuf, Pena found a methamphetamine smoking pipe, Iler said. A search of the truck produced the sawed-off shotgun and a box of 12-gauge ammunition, Iler said. Iler said he was unable to locate a serial number on the shotgun.
“You can’t go hunting with it,” Iler said. “You can’t even shoot skeet.”
Finuf has been arrested on numerous occasions for felony weapon and drug possession dating from 1997, according to San Benito County Jail personnel.
He is being held at the San Benito County Jail in lieu of $21,000 bail.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected].
