Jamestown, CA…A deputy driving in the area of Hwy 108 and O’Byrnes Ferry Road in Jamestown stopped his patrol car yesterday morning, when he noticed something strange. There were two people sleeping inside a black Mercedes in the middle of the lane, while the car was still in drive. The car was immobile because it was on an uphill slope, but it was still a quite dangerous situation.

The deputy told the driver, 18-year-old Naomi Arista of Groveland, to put the car in park. She was unable to do so which caused her vehicle to roll backwards almost hitting the deputy’s patrol car. Thankfully, the deputy reached inside Arista’s car and was able to stop it from moving.

During a search of the vehicle , deputies found a loaded, unregistered Taurus 9mm handgun.
Arista was arrested for driving under the influence and possession of an unregistered, loaded firearm. Her passenger 20-year-old Alwyn Bans of Modesto, was also charged with the unregistered loaded firearm.

After the arrests, Arista and Bans were taken to the Tuolumne County Jail where a search turned up three baggies containing 11 grams of cocaine in Bans sock. Bans admitted to possessing and transporting the cocaine to our county to sell and picked up additional charges of possession of a controlled substance for sale and possession of a controlled substance while armed with a loaded firearm.