Santa Rosa traffic stop leads discovery of gun, drugs in seat cushion

Driving a stolen rental car and traveling with a loaded gun and drugs hidden in a seat cushion, a wanted Salinas man now is in the Sonoma County Jail following a traffic stop by a Sonoma County Sheriff’s deputy, according to a Sheriff’s official.

A deputy early Sunday morning stopped the driver of a black Jeep Cherokee Latitude on Hearn Avenue because the vehicle had no California license plates, Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Crum said Tuesday. A check of the driver’s identity showed he was wanted on a robbery warrant from Santa Cruz County.

Robert Kimura-Cuellar, 28, also was on probation for a robbery conviction in San Francisco, allowing deputies to search his vehicle and stipulating that he not possess drugs, Crum said.

Inside, they found a compartment in a seat cushion holding a loaded .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver. The gun had been stolen from an owner in San Mateo County, Crum said.

Deputies also found small amounts of what appeared to be black tar heroin and methamphetamine.

A search of a Santa Rosa motel room the man was sharing with others turned up a shotgun stashed under a bed. Others denied owning the gun, and deputies suspected it belonged to Kumura-Cuellar, Crum said.

The Jeep turned out to be a Hertz rental that had been stolen, deputies were told by a rental agency official, he said.

The suspect remained in the Sonoma County Jail on Tuesday, facing six felony crimes including being a felon with an armed gun and having drugs for sale. Because of the warrants, he was being held without bail.

A woman reportedly staying with him at the motel also was arrested on a warrant, Crum said.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com.