Marijuana and ammo seized from man wearing flak jacket north of Cloverdale

A Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy arrested a convicted felon from Rio Linda found sitting in a car early Tuesday wearing a flak jacket and rubber gloves with 2 pounds of marijuana at his feet and 27 bullets in his pockets, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The arrest came after a deputy spotted a “suspicious” black Volkswagen GTI parked facing the wrong direction on the 32000 block of McCray Road north of Cloverdale just after 2 a.m., sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Spencer Crum said in a statement. The deputy also noticed a strong smell of marijuana coming from an open window, Crum said.

Julian Salazar, 42, was found in the passenger seat wearing “a camouflage military style flak jacket with hard armor plates” with a large bag of marijuana at his feet, Crum said. Salazar was removed from the car and handcuffed and the .45 caliber ammunition was found in his pants pockets, Crum said. A female driver was also detained but not arrested.

No firearm was found in the car, but a methamphetamine pipe was, Crum said. Salazar had an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for driving without a license and was booked in Sonoma County Jail for possession of ammunition as a felon, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

You can reach Staff Writer Nick Rahaim at 707-521-5203 or nick.rahaim@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nrahaim.