Loaded Pistol on Floor of His Car Gets A’s Canseco Arrested in San Francisco

Jose Canseco of the Oakland Athletics was arrested Friday on a campus of the University of California for investigation of carrying a loaded gun, police said.

Canseco, the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 1988, was “totally cooperative” when arrested by campus police at 1:40 p.m. as he returned to his sports car after an examination of his injured wrist at the university’s Laurel Heights campus, Lt. Mark Kurtz said.

The A’s right fielder, who is out of the lineup for at least three more weeks, was booked at the Hall of Justice for investigation of possession of a loaded firearm on university property, a felony, Kurtz said.

Canseco, 24, was released several hours later, after his wife, Esther, posted $5,000 bail.

A passerby attracted to Canseco’s red Jaguar in the school’s parking lot noticed the fully loaded 9mm automatic handgun lying on the floor in the driver’s side of the locked car, Kurtz said.

Police could find no permit on file with the state allowing Canseco to carry a weapon but are continuing their investigation.

After the passerby reported the gun, “We went out, and an officer investigated,” Kurtz said. “We ran the plate and found out who the registered owner was. We checked the visitor entry log and found he was at the facility. We waited until his appointment was over and waited until he came out to his car and arrested him.”

On Jan. 21, a traveling companion of Canseco’s was arrested at a Detroit airport for trying to board a flight with a 9mm semiautomatic pistol in his briefcase.