On Friday January 26, 2019 at 12:43 am Officer Barker was working patrol in the 600 block of Beck Ave in the City of Fairfield. Officer Barker observed a full sized Chevrolet Silverado with inoperable lighting, driving at a high rate of speed. Officer Barker made a traffic enforcement stop for the vehicle code violations.
Officer Barker made contact with the driver who showed objective signs of being under the influence. A male passenger in the vehicle was on active felony probation. The driver and passenger were both detained while officers conducted their investigation.
A search of the vehicle produced an illegally possessed, short barrel, .223 caliber assault rifle. The rifle was within reach of the driver and passenger, concealed only by a jacket. Neither occupant in the vehicle claimed ownership of the illegally possessed firearm.
Arrested were 42 year old Juan Ramirez and 25 year old Marcus Hill, both Fairfield residents. Ramirez and Hill were booked into Solano County Jail for numerous weapons violation charges including, illegal possession of a short barrel rifle, felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, and probation violation. Additionally, Ramirez was charged with DUI (Driving Under the Influence).
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's report for 2017 stated the everyday, almost 30 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes—that's one person every 48 minutes. Due to Officer Barker’s quick action he was able to prevent these individuals from becoming such a statistic.
Photos of the suspects were not available at the time of this release.
