Redding felon arrested after stolen license plates lead to discovery of “Ghost Gun”

January 24, 2022 Trevor Montgomery

REDDING, Calif., — Authorities say a felon was arrested as a result of a suspicious vehicle investigation after he was found to be in possession of a fully loaded and un-serialized, short-barreled rifle with a high capacity 30-round magazine under the seat of the man’s pickup truck Sunday morning, January 23.

As a convicted felon, the man cannot legally possess a firearm or ammunition, according to officials.

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City of Redding police officers were conducting routine patrol around 10:30 a.m. when they spotted a Dodge truck suspiciously parked in an empty parking lot at Wilshire Dr. and Bechelli Ln., Redding Police Corporal Wes Townsley later said of the incident and arrest.

A Redding felon was arrested after officers investigating a suspiciously parked vehicle with stolen plates found he was in possession of an un-serialized and un-registered “Ghost Gun” along with a high-capacity magazine in his pickup truck yesterday morning. Redding PD photos

“Officers ran the license plate to the vehicle and found the license plate was reported stolen,” Townsley explained; saying officers detained a man, Wayne Jackson Mandus Carlson, 38, of Redding, who was found near the truck.

Although investigating officers learned the truck rightfully belonged to Carlson, they determined that the license plates he had affixed to his vehicle had been reported as stolen.

During a subsequent search of Calson’s Dodge, officers located an un-serialized, short-barreled, fully functional rifle under the seat in the truck. The firearm was found to be loaded with a high-capacity, 30-round, magazine.

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Based on their investigation, officers arrested Carlson and he was booked into the Shasta County Jail in Redding on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing a firearm without a serial number, possession of a short-barreled rifle, felon in possession of ammunition, possession of stolen property and displaying false license plates.

Online jail records indicate he remains in custody in lieu of $25,000 bail or bond.

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Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.