Police: Assault Rifle, Pot Found During Murrieta Traffic Stop

A traffic stop in Murrieta led to the arrest of a convicted felon who was allegedly in the possession of illegal weapons and marijuana, police said today.

At about 9:35 p.m. Monday, an officer on routine patrol stopped a car near the intersection of Los Alamos Road and Monroe Avenue based on an alleged vehicle code violation, Murrieta police Sgt. Don Weller said in a news release.

"During the officers’ traffic stop, he smelled an overwhelmingly strong odor of marijuana emanating from inside the vehicle," Weller said.

The front passenger, identified as Edward Michael Hernandez, 24, of Menifee, allegedly admitted to having marijuana in the vehicle and handed the officer a green pill bottle containing marijuana, Weller said.

Further investigation led the officer to locate and recover two rifles inside the vehicle, one of which was an AK-47 type assault rifle, Weller said.

"The serial number to the assault rifle had been filed off and was illegible," Weller said, noting further questioning revealed Hernandez was responsible for the weapons.

The officer ran Hernandez' record, which Weller said showed a prior felony conviction.

Hernandez was arrested on suspicion of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, possession of an assault rifle, altering or removing a serial number on a rifle, and two misdemeanor active warrants, Weller said.

Hernandez was booked at Southwest Detention Center and was being held on $50,000 bail, jail records indicated.

An Oct. 11 court date was set for Hernandez.