Expired car registration leads police to arrest skinhead gang member on weapons charges

Police arrested a Fresno man on Thursday after finding a loaded assault rifle hidden in a laundry basket inside his home.

The man, who identified himself as Robert Kloppenburg, was stopped along Shaw Avenue on Thursday evening for having an expired registration tag on his car.

According to the Clovis Police Department, Kloppenburg is a skinhead gang member and was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon. He was detained while officers searched his vehicle. They then got a warrant and searched his home in Fresno, where they found the AR-15 style rifle.

The gun was loaded.

Kloppenburg was booked into the Fresno County Jain on charges of unlawfully possessing an assault weapon, for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and for parole violation. He remained in custody on Friday, police said.

This story was originally published June 7, 2019 at 3:23 PM.