On a night when many were out celebrating, law enforcement in Riverbank were conducting a DUI checkpoint with sobering results. The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office reported the seizure of two "ghost" guns and the arrest of three individuals on suspicion of driving under the influence during their Halloween operation. Nearly 900 vehicles passed through the checkpoint as the officers aimed to curb impaired driving on a night notorious for elevated risks on the road.
These efforts were part of the Stanislaus County Major Accident Investigation Team's (MAIT) initiative, which frequently sets up such operations in locations with historically higher rates of DUI-related incidents. In a statement obtained by Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office's Facebook page, they highlighted that their "primary goal of these checkpoints is to promote public safety by identifying and removing impaired drivers from the roadway before they can cause harm."
One notable incident from the checkpoint involved a driver attempting to evade law enforcement by executing an illegal U-turn. Deputy Orr pulled over the vehicle and found that the driver was operating with a suspended license. Before the car was towed away, an inventory search led to the recovery of two unregulated "ghost" guns, so called because they lack serial numbers and are often built from kits, making them difficult to trace. The driver's attempt to slip past the checkpoint ultimately led to their arrest without further incident.
Funding for this DUI checkpoint came from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), which is administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). According to the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office's Facebook post, MAIT is dedicated to continuing this type of work, planning to conduct similar operations throughout the year with the aim of reducing traffic injuries and fatalities linked to impaired driving.
