An officer's suspicions about a car parked in Mancini Park early Sunday morning led to the discovery of a loaded handgun hidden in the air cleaner over the engine.

At 12:14 a.m. Officer Eric Gallegos was on patrol and saw a car in the park with its hood up. He saw a man near the front of the car who walked to the back in an attempt to be visually obstructed by the hood. The suspect, Jerry Barton, 33, of Modesto, told the officer that he was having transmission problems. That statement didn't seem true as Barton had loosened the screw on the air cleaner cover. Officer Gallegos opened the air cleaner and found a loaded .380 caliber stolen out of Kansas.

Barton was arrested and during a search of his body the officer found two baggies of methamphetamine.