Glendale man arrested for alleged gun violation during social-distancing stop
Failing to heed social-distancing advice from medical experts resulted in the arrest of a Glendale man for an alleged firearms violation in late March, according to police.
Officers from the Glendale Police Department were called to the 1000 block of East Garfield Avenue on March 26 for a reported disturbance in a residential parking lot involving a group of men.
According to a statement from the department, officers found six men gathered around a vehicle. Some in the group were wearing gloves while holding beer bottles.
Authorities say the men started to disperse as the officers approached, and police recognized one man as a known gang member.
The men were detained by the officers and warned about the need for social distancing from one another amid the growing coronavirus pandemic, according to the statement.
As of Wednesday afternoon, health officials had confirmed 86 cases of the novel coronavirus in Glendale, making it one of the highest infected cities in Los Angeles County.
While the men were being detained, officers found a loaded .22-caliber pistol in a case nearby.
Police say the gun belonged to one of the men in the group, 23-year-old Jonathan Esquivel, and he was arrested on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm in public.
