A gun was seen in a Wednesday, Dec. 28 traffic stop that caused two occupants to be removed under the threat of gunpoint.

At 11:31 p.m. Ceres police officer Charles Hernandez conducted a stop on a red Ford Mustang at the Chevron gas station at Hatch and Herndon roads. While speaking to driver Adrianno Gutierrez, 19, of Modesto, and his 16-year-old male passenger, the officer saw a black handle of a handgun laying on the backseat, covered by a pile of clothes. Hernandez drew his sidearm and gave verbal commands to Gutierrez to place his hands on the steering wheel. Gutierrez complied and was taken into custody.

Ceres Police Officer Dirk Nieuwenhuis arrived and assisted by securing the male passenger for safety reasons. Once the scene was deemed safe Officer Hernandez removed the firearm from the vehicle and noticed it was an air soft gun.

Gutierrez proved to be on felony probation. During a search of Gutierrez's vehicle officers located a bottle containing several illegally possessed carisoprodol pills in the center console of the vehicle. Gutierrez was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and for probation violation.

Gutierrez, who did not provide a statement to police, was booked into the county jail without incident.