CAMARILLO : Three Men Arrested on Weapons Charges

Three Los Angeles men were arrested for possessing two sawed-off shotguns after a Ventura County Sheriff’s deputy found the weapons in their car’s engine compartment, authorities said Monday.

Deputy Joe Rivas first saw the men sitting in a car about 8 p.m. Sunday at Ventura Boulevard and Fulton Street in Camarillo, Sgt. Mike Barnes said. Rivas became suspicious when the men got out of the car and walked past an open liquor store and gas station as if to check out the neighborhood for a potential robbery, Barnes said.

The trio then noticed the patrol car and drove away, Barnes said. The men traveled about a block when they hit a speed bump on Barry Street near Peoples Avenue, causing the car hood to pop up, and forcing them to stop.

Rivas, who followed them, asked to search their car and found two sawed-off shotguns in the engine compartment, Barnes said.

Eric Chase, 25; Terrance Lartigue, 24, and Frederick Mitchell, 25, were all arrested on suspicion of possessing a dangerous weapon. They were each being held in lieu of $5,000 bail at Ventura County Jail on Monday. They are scheduled to be arraigned today.