A 24-year-old Hayward man was arrested over the weekend during a DUI patrol in Cotati after police said they found cocaine and a loaded firearm without a serial number in his vehicle.
The man, identified as Lorenzo Laurean, was arrested at about 8:30 p.m. Dec. 27, according to Lt. Paul Goodin of the Cotati Police Department.
Officers observed a vehicle weaving and making multiple unsafe lane changes on Rohnert Park Expressway at Redwood Drive in Rohnert Park, Goodin said. Laurean, the driver, was stopped and later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Police said they found multiple bags of cocaine on Laurean. A search of the vehicle uncovered a loaded, 3D-printed firearm without a serial number — commonly referred to as a ghost gun — on the floorboard beneath the driver’s seat, according to a department news release.
Laurean was booked into the Sonoma County jail on suspicion of driving while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, possession of a controlled substance, carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle, carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, and carrying a firearm while in possession of a controlled substance, authorities said.
The arrest occurred during one of two DUI saturation patrols conducted by Cotati police over the weekend. The patrols were funded through a California Highway Patrol Cannabis Tax Fund Grant.
Goodin said DUI saturation patrols differ from routine patrols in that officers are assigned specifically to look for drivers suspected of operating vehicles while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
“It’s patrol officers who actually go out on the street and don’t handle normal calls for service, but instead are out there looking for intoxicated drivers,” Goodin said.
The grant funding allows the department to staff additional shifts and purchase equipment designed to detect drug impairment, not just alcohol impairment.
In total, Cotati police arrested eight drivers over the weekend on suspicion of DUI-related offenses. Two of those drivers were also found to be in possession of cocaine and methamphetamine, the department said.
You can reach Staff Writer Isabel Beer at isabel.beer@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @IsabelSongbeer
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