Missing License Plate Lands Two Local Men Behind Bars

East Sonora, CA — A traffic stop near a local shopping center resulted in a vehicle search where two guns, one loaded, were uncovered.

Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Deputies recently made a traffic stop on a vehicle without a front license plate and an expired registration on Mono Way near the Junction Shopping Center in East Sonora. Inside the vehicle were the driver, 20-year-old Shane Powell of Sonora, and his passenger, 59-year-old Travis Kimbro, a transient. A record check showed Kimbro had three misdemeanor drug-related warrants for his arrest.

While questioning the pair, deputies saw ammunition on the floor and ordered them out of the vehicle. A pat-down of Powell uncovered a loaded pistol magazine in his pocket. Deputies then turned to the vehicle and discovered a loaded 9mm handgun without a serial number and a pistol-grip, pump-action shotgun.

Powell was arrested for felony possession of a loaded handgun not registered to him. Kimbro was arrested on misdemeanor warrants.