Santa Ana : Motorist Arrested After Silencers Found on Guns

A motorist who had been pulled off a freeway in Santa Ana because his license plates had expired was arrested Tuesday morning on suspicion of carrying concealed weapons with silencers on them.

Sheriff’s Lt. Dick Olson said Michael Duane Butler, 32, of Santa Ana was being held on $10,000 bail at the Orange County Jail. Butler, who told police he is a machinist, was to be arraigned today in Central Orange County Municipal Court, Olson said.

California Highway Patrol officers turning off the Costa Mesa Freeway at 17th Street about 4:30 a.m. noticed a 1973 Chevrolet pickup with expired Idaho license plates, Olson said. The officers stopped the truck on Tustin Avenue.

Butler was asked to produce his truck registration, Olson said, and as he opened the glove compartment, officers reported seeing the end of a silencer protruding from a bag on the floor. Sheriff’s deputies were called, and after searching Butler and the vehicle, said they found a loaded .25-caliber automatic pistol on Butler, and three other automatic pistols in his pickup. All except the gun found on Butler were equipped with silencers, Olson said.

Butler had no warrants outstanding for his arrest, Olson said. The Sheriff’s Criminal Activities Unit, which routinely checks weapons violations, is investigating the matter.