Hundreds of California Recall Ballots, Drugs, Loaded Gun Discovered in Felon’s Car: Police
California law enforcement was shocked after discovering hundreds of ballots for California Gov. Gavin Newsom's recall election, drugs, and a loaded gun inside a vehicle of a felon who passed out last week.
According to Fox News, the Torrance Police Department said on Monday that officers responded to a call at around 10:45 p.m. on August 16 about a man who passed out at a 7-Eleven parking lot in Emerald St.
Officers learned during their investigation that the man was a felon and had Xanax pills in his possession.
Recall Ballots in Felon's Possession
Based on further investigation, Torrance Police said that aside from the Xanax pills, they have found thousands of pieces of mail that include more than 300 ballots for the upcoming recall election of embattled Gov. Gavin Newsom inside the felon's vehicle.
Not only the mail and ballots were found inside the vehicle, but also a loaded 9-millimeter handgun firearm, methamphetamine, and a weighing scale.
The Torrance Police also found multiple California driver's licenses and credit cards that were listed under different people's names.
Police also said that new election ballots were now sent to those identified through the investigation. The police also clarified that the incident was not connected to any other thefts of election ballots.
Police are now working with election officials to ensure that all voters affected by the theft incident would get their new ballots.
Ballots would be mailed with unique barcodes assigned to each voter to avoid any duplication. It was still unclear for the Torrance Police how the recall ballots ended up in the suspect's vehicle or what he intended to do with them.
Police noted that the said incident is currently being investigated by authorities in partnership with the Los Angeles County District Attorney Public Integrity Unit and the U.S. Postal Service.
The suspect was arrested and now facing numerous weapons, narcotics, and forgery charges. The suspect's identity was not released.
Sgt. Mark Ponegalek told KABC-TV that the recall ballots were unopened and had not been tampered with, KCRA reported.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom Recall Election
The recall election would be held on Sept.14. The recall push was launched in June last year over claims that Newsom mishandled the state's response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The effort surged in November after the California governor appeared to skirt the state-imposed coronavirus restrictions. Newsom was spotted dining in a high-end restaurant without a mask and surrounded by individuals who live outside of his own household.
This article is owned by Latin Post
Written by: Jess Smith
WATCH: California Recall Ballots Found in Felon's Car in Torrance - From KTLA 5