CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Wednesday Clearlake Police officers safely took a man into custody after he picked up a handgun during a police search of his residence that ultimately turned up marijuana, firearms and cash.



Clearlake resident Jose Luis Hernandez Rosales, 30, was taken into custody for numerous charges related to marijuana possession and cultivation, as well as controlled substances, possessing stolen property, having a large capacity firearm magazine and committing a felony while armed with a firearm, according to county booking records.



At 12:50 p.m. Wednesday Clearlake Police Officers Travis Parson and Leo Flores responded to a residence located in the 14800 block of Palmer Avenue after being dispatched to the residence for a report of a subject being seen with a firearm. It was reported that a male subject was arguing in front of the residence with another male, allegedly about marijuana, according to a Clearlake Police report.



When the officers arrived, they contacted one subject identified as Hernandez Rosales. While the officers were talking with him they asked him if he had any firearms. He admitted to having one shotgun in the residence, police reported.



The report said the officers asked Hernandez Rosales if they could come inside his residence to make sure everything was OK and he consented.



The officers asked Hernandez Rosales if he had any marijuana at the residence and he claimed that code enforcement had already issued an abatement notice so they removed all the marijuana he had, police said.



The officers then asked if they could look around to make sure there was no one else inside. At that point police said Hernandez Rosales admitted that he had some growing marijuana inside the residence in another room.



The report said the officers questioned Hernandez Rosales about the marijuana and he stated he had a medical recommendation that allowed him to grow.



They also questioned him further about the marijuana inside the residence and asked to see his recommendation. Hernandez Rosales told them he kept his recommendation in a nearby drawer, police said.



Police reported that Hernandez Rosales was completely cooperative and according to the officers never gave any indication to them that he was a threat to them.



Before the officer could stop Hernandez Rosales from opening the nearby drawer, he opened it and reached inside seemingly to obtain his marijuana recommendation, according to police.



As as officer was standing by watching him, the officer saw a handgun in the drawer. He then immediately saw Hernandez Rosales pick up another handgun in the drawer, police said.



The agency reported that the officer immediately drew his firearm and ordered Hernandez Rosales to drop the gun. Hernandez Rosales complied with the order, and officers detained him in handcuffs for their safety and his.



Hernandez Rosales told the officers that he was sorry and he thought the recommendation was in the drawer and then saw the gun, and that he didn’t realize what he had done, police said.



Due to the officers seeing both firearms in plain view and the fact that Hernandez Rosales picked it up in their presence, they conducted further investigation into the firearms, discovering that the firearm Hernandez Rosales picked up was stolen and the other firearm in the drawer had its serial number ground off, according to the report.



Police said Rosales was arrested for possession of stolen property and possession of a firearm with a removed serial number. Based on the observations Officer Flores authored a search warrant for the residence and remaining property. The search warrant was later authorized by a Lake County Superior Court judge.



The service of the search warrant resulted in the seizure of four firearms, including the two handguns previously mentioned and two shotguns; 311 marijuana plants in various stages of growth; approximately 20 pounds of processed marijuana, police said.



There also evidence to support that Hernandez Rosales was involved in marijuana sales and items associated with the manufacture of concentrated cannabis, according to the report.



Police said they also seized $5,258 in U.S currency that is now pending judicial asset forfeiture.



Hernandez Rosales made admissions to police that he was unemployed and made his living from selling marijuana.



In addition he admitted to police to manufacturing concentrated cannabis using a butane honey oil apparatus, but claimed he was not good at the process.



Police said that statement was very concerning due to the dangers associated with butane honey oil extraction, a process used to manufacture concentrated cannabis while using butane and heat to extract oil from marijuana.



Hernandez Rosales also admitted that he had previously been deported from the United States and he was not a supposed to be in the country, police said.



Hernandez Rosales was booked into the Lake County Jail, with his bail set at $100,000. He remained in custody on Thursday night, according to jail records.



The Clearlake Police Department report said the agency was very thankful that the situation resulted in no one being hurt.



The report credited the officers with an “outstanding” response to Hernandez Rosales picking up the handgun. “ They used commendable restraint and safely defused a very potentially dangerous situation.”



Police said they also were happy to be able to stop Hernandez Rosales’ further attempts to use the butane honey oil process, “which put neighbors at risk,” the agency said.