Homemade Gun, Part Of Assault Rifle Leads To Berkeley Man's Arrest

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BERKELEY (CBS SF) - A 36-year-old Berkeley man was arrested early Sunday morning after allegedly being in possession of a homemade handgun and part of an assault rifle during a traffic stop, according to police.

Police said the suspect, identified on the city's website as Arturo Frisch Avila, was stopped at 11:57 p.m. Saturday in the area of Sixth Street and University Avenue. An initial investigation determined that the vehicle's license plate was registered to another vehicle.

A search of the vehicle found the loaded handgun, the assault rifle part, as well as methamphetamine and other weapons in his vehicle, according to police.

Police said a search of the driver's home found ammunition, high-capacity rifle magazines and one more handgun.

Avila is currently being held at the Santa Rita Jail on $230,000 bail, per jail records. His next scheduled court appearance - a pretrial hearing - is Monday at the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland at 9 a.m.