Two brothers were arrested by Stanislaus County Sheriff's deputies last week for an armed robbery that occurred in the unincorporated area of Ceres in February. The arrests also yielded illegal weapons and pounds of marijuana which authorities say they were selling.

Deputies assigned to the Sheriff's Team Investigating Narcotics and Gangs (STING) identified Alejandro Amaya, 30, of Keyes, as the suspect in the Ceres robbery. On Thursday, deputies executed a search warrant at his brother's home in the 100 block of Drake Avenue in Modesto where they hoped to find him but unearthed a cache of nine firearms, two of which were stolen in New Mexico. A number of the weapons are classified as assault weapons and illegal to possess in California. In their search of the Drake Avenue residence, deputies also confiscated several pounds of marijuana, evidence of marijuana sales was and a large amount of cash.

Arrested was Saul Amaya, 32, a convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms. He was booked and charged with being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm, person prohibited from possessing a firearm, possession of an assault rifle, possession of a short barreled shotgun/rifle, possession of stolen property, possession of metal knuckles and possession of marijuana for sale.

Deputies learned that Alejandro Amaya was living in the 2900 block of Keyes Road. As he left his house on Friday he was arrested and found with a loaded gun. Because of his status as a convicted felon, he is also prohibited from possessing firearms and/or ammunition. A search of the Keyes residence turned up a large amount of ammunition along with over 200 marijuana plants. Alejandro Amaya was booked into the county jail for the Ceres robbery, being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm, being a person prohibited from possessing a firearm, possession of a loaded firearm in a public place, carrying a concealed firearm, destroying evidence and participation in a criminal street gang.