Guns taken, car show stopped on Friday
The Lodi Police Department had a busy afternoon and evening last Friday, responding to the report of gunshots near Century Park and then breaking up an illegal car show at WalMart.
A t about 2:10 p.m. that day, officers responded to gunshots heard in the area of Church Street and Swain Drive.
An investigation led officers to determine the gunshots were fired from a home in the 100 block of Swain Drive, police said.
Officers made contact with the residents and obtained a search warrant, police said. A search of the home found an illegallypossessed AR-style weapon with no serial numbers or identifying marks in the garage. Several rounds of ammunition were also found, police said.
Officers also found 15 spent .223-caliber shell casings in the backyard, which is adjacent to Century Park, police said.
Nicolas Hernandez, 27, of Lodi was arrested and booked into San Joaquin County Jail on suspicion of willfully discharging a firearm in a gross negligent manner and illegally possessing an assault weapon, police said.
That night, officers responded to the report of another car show in the
Walmart parking lot at 1601 South Lower Sacramento Road.
Police said about 250 vehicles and 750 people were present in the lot, and the event was not approved by the property owner or the City of Lodi.
Multiple vehicles engaged in speeding, burn outs and other vehicle code violations, police said, and officers issued several citations and multiple vehicles were towed.
The illegal gathering was not the first Lodi Police have had to break up in recent months.
On July 31, officers arrested four people associated with a gathering with some 600 guests and 200 vehicles at the same location.
Four vehicles were towed and an additional 10 citations were written.
Police at the time said shows had been happening about once a week for the past few months.