Fallbrook deputies did not know about the hidden gun until they heard the man ask his female friend if they had found it.

Sheriff’s deputy John Klimek said he put Angel Chavez and Araceli Diaz in the back seat of a patrol car, while deputies searched the blue 1994 Chevy which Diaz had been driving.

It was very early on Tuesday morning, 2 a.m., December 18, when deputy Klimek pulled the car over, near the intersection of freeway 15 and highway 76. The officer said the car’s windows were so darkly tinted that neither the driver nor passenger could be seen, which he said is a violation of vehicle code.

Neither person in the vehicle had valid identification, nor driver’s license, nor proof of insurance, the officer said.

Deputy Klimek found more than 33 grams of methamphetamine in “a quart-sized Mason jar” and a digital scale in the car. Inside Chavez’ wallet, which the deputy noted had “a chain on it,” was more than $4,000 in hundred dollar bills.

There was a digital recorder in the patrol car in which both suspects had been placed. Angel Rodriguez Chavez, 37, and Araceli Chavez Diaz, 26, were speaking Spanish to each other when Chavez asked Diaz “if they found the gun,” the deputy testified in court today.

Deputies were in the Fallbrook Sheriff station when they reviewed the recording and heard the comment, and officers went to check the impounded vehicle again.

Deputy Timothy Clark said he found one 9mm handgun hidden under a floormat in front of the passenger seat. Deputy Clark said there were seven live rounds in the magazine, and none in the chamber, when he found the gun.

San Diego County Superior Court Judge Runston Maino ordered both defendants to face three felony charges, including possession of drugs for sale, transporting drugs, and possession of drugs and firearm. Both Chavez and Diaz are next due in the Vista courthouse on January 28.

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