Around 2:00 am on Sunday, a Fresno County Sheriff’s deputy was patrolling the area of Shaw and Fruit Avenues when he saw the driver commit a traffic violation.
He pulled the vehicle over and discovered four people inside. The driver was a 23 year old woman who was on probation, which allowed the deputy to search her vehicle. The three young men who were riding as passengers were taken out of the car and patted down for officer safety. The deputy found 19 year old Donald Steele was carrying a Glock 9mm handgun equipped with a high capacity magazine, which was fully loaded with 31 bullets. Steele did not have permission to carry a concealed weapon, nor does he have a permit to have a high capacity magazine. Steele was arrested and booked into the Fresno County Jail on felonies of carrying a concealed gun, having a loaded gun in public and possessing a large capacity magazine. His bond was set at $110,000 and he posted the necessary amount to bail out of jail.
Donald Steele
To put things into perspective, the largest magazine sold to the general public in California is 10 rounds. The largest magazine some of our deputies carry holds 15 rounds. Therefore, Steele had two to three times more than a person would typically have loaded in a gun at one time.
Around 1:30 am on Monday, a Fresno County Sheriff’s deputy saw a traffic violation occur at Reed and Vino near Reedley. The deputy conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and as he spoke with the driver, he noticed the passenger in the front seat, Irving Chavira, had the handle of a handgun sticking out of his waistband. The deputy searched 22 year old Chavira and found that the concealed weapon was loaded. The deputy arrested Chavira and booked him into the Fresno County Jail on felonies of carrying a concealed gun and having a loaded gun in public. His bail amount has been set at $100,000.
Anyone with additional information on the suspects in these cases is asked to please contact the Sheriff’s Office dispatch at (559) 600-3111 or Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-STOP (7867). All tips will remain anonymous and you may be eligible for a cash reward.