This morning, the Santa Rosa Police Department reported a routine traffic stop that quickly escalated into a significant weapons and narcotics seizure. An officer pulled over a car because it had no visible license plates. It was around 1:05 AM when the officer spotted open containers of marijuana, prompting an admission from the driver of a loaded firearm under the seat.
The driver, identified as 45-year-old Vallejo resident Tabarrie Merritt, was detained to ensure the situation's safety expeditiously. A subsequent search of the vehicle yielded a loaded, unregistered, unserialized 9mm P80 as well as suspected crack cocaine found within the center console. As disclosed in the Santa Rosa Police's report, Merritt, a convicted felon with a prohibition on possessing firearms and ammunition, admitted to concealing additional narcotics on his person after being taken to the Sonoma County Jail.
Merritt now faces multiple charges, including the possession of a firearm in public, carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, possession of live ammunition by a prohibited person, possession of a controlled substance while armed with a firearm, and possession of a controlled substance.
