There were cheers and applause after his arrest – from bystanders
A group of people gathered to record video and cheer for officers Friday night – all because they had arrested a man with a weapon.
Fresno police Sgt. Adrian Alvarez said in a news release that southeast officers responded to a concerned citizen’s call just after 8 p.m. The 911 caller told police two men had driven off from a gas station north on Maple Avenue – and one of them possibly had a gun. Police Sgt. Rudy Ruiz spotted the car, a white two-door Acura, driving northbound and followed it, Alvarez said.
A police officer eventually drove the caller to an area near Maple and Dwight avenues, where a traffic stop for the white Acura was already underway. Alvarez said the caller confirmed the two men in the vehicle were the men he saw jump into the vehicle and leave the store. The driver was identified by police as Andre Ratanak Kho, 21, and the passenger as Rashad Tremain Jones, 28.
Both men are believed to be members of the Asian Boyz Gang. A brief search of the vehicle by officers uncovered a 9 mm Glock handgun, Alvarez said. Jones admitted to police that the weapon was his.
He told police that the gun was for his safety following recent gun violence in the city. But officers also discovered he was a convicted felon and was prohibited from possessing a weapon. Jones was arrested and booked into the Fresno County Jail on weapon-related charges, Alvarez stated in the news release.
The cheers and applause from the “large crowd” when Jones was taken into custody was an encouraging act of support by the community, according to Alvarez. The crowd reportedly gathered about a block away from the traffic stop to record the whole incident. Alvarez added the arrest might not have been made if not for the concerned caller.
Anyone with information about gang members or felons with weapons is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 559-498-7869. Anonymous callers with information that leads to an arrest are eligible for monetary rewards.
Cresencio Rodriguez-Delgado: 559-441-6304, @cres_guez
This story was originally published February 3, 2018 at 9:37 AM with the headline "There were cheers and applause after his arrest – from bystanders."