Pistol Found Under Preschool Doormat

A loaded 9-millimeter pistol was found hidden under a doormat of a Los Alamitos preschool after toddlers tried unsuccessfully to push the door open, police said.

Discovery of the Ruger semiautomatic weapon--with a magazine full of bullets--by adults at the preschool averted possible disaster, said Los Alamitos Police Capt. Todd Mattern.

“The gun was loaded. There was a bullet in the chamber. The safety was off. It was ready to fire,” Mattern said. “If someone had pulled the trigger, it would have fired.”

Police believe the gun, which had been stolen during a 1994 liquor store robbery in Lindsay, Calif., was ditched by an auto theft suspect early Thursday as police dogs tracked him to the playground of Rossmoor Pre-School on Reagan Street.

The suspect, Michael Melendez, 19, of Paramount, was arrested about 1:30 a.m. Thursday after he surrendered to officers who used dogs to sniff him out of hiding near the playground, authorities said.

Police were first alerted at 12:30 a.m. to a suspicious man who got out of a Honda Accord, later found to have been reported stolen in Los Angeles County, and allegedly broke into another Accord parked in an alley behind 3600 Howard Ave.

When patrol cars drove toward the Accord in the alley, Melendez jumped out of the car and ran, eluding police for an hour before surrendering, authorities said.

Melendez was arrested on suspicion of auto theft and possession of stolen property. He could face additional charges, such as possession of a loaded firearm and reckless endangerment. He is being held at Orange County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail. Melendez has no known connection to the 1994 robbery, police said.