Two men were arrested after allegedly firing a pistol near Kelseyville High School on Thursday night.
Ariel Santos and Mario Flores are in custody on $35,000 bail after an investigation following the incident, which briefly forced a lockdown during a school event. Deputies from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office recovered five 9 mm shell casings on the roadway within the limits of the school.
According to LCSO Lt. Steve Brooks, deputies responded to reports of a man carrying a weapon near Main St. and Single Springs Dr. in Kelseyville. When deputies arrived on scene shortly after 7 p.m. they contacted three witnesses who said Santos and Flores had been at a nearby residence together.
An officer from the California Highway Patrol joined deputies at the scene.
“One of the witnesses stated Flores was seen carrying a handgun behind his back, while Santos argued with one of the occupants,” Brooks said in a statement released Friday afternoon.
Santos and Flores reportedly left a short time later in a green Toyota pick-up. Moments after Santos and Flores started to drive away, witnesses told deputies they heard four gunshots.
When law enforcement officers arrives at Flores’ home in the 1900 block of Big Valley Road in Kelseyville, they found both subjects standing near a green Toyota pick-up.
“Upon contact, deputies noticed a loaded, 9 mm, Sig Sauer handgun in plain view in the passenger area of the vehicle,” Brooks said.
The handgun was later determined to have been stolen in September 2015 during a residential burglary in Lakeport.
The Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Detectives responded to the scene to assist with the investigation and to serve a search warrant. Approximately nine pounds of processed marijuana, 45 flowering marijuana plants, ammunition and a .223 caliber 30 round magazine were seized from the property.
Flores and Santos were arrested for a series of charges associated with negligent discharge of a firearm and possession of stolen property. They were transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Santos was also charged with driving while under the influence.
There were no reports of injury.
The Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit is continuing the investigation into this incident and anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Richard Kreutzer at 707-262-4233.
