Instagram video prompted deputies to seize guns from Arvin home
Dec 24, 2024
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- Sheriff's investigators seized multiple guns -- including an AK-style rifle -- from an Arvin home after viewing a video on Instagram that showed a gun equipped with a laser sight being fired in the backyard.
Investigators last week seized the AK-style rifle, a .22-caliber rifle and handgun from a home in the 2500 block of Nora Way, according to a warrant filed in Superior court. They also seized ammunition and magazines.
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An investigation began Dec. 12 when a deputy monitoring social media accounts saw a video of a handgun with a laser and light attachment pointed in the air and fired, according to the warrant. A cinder block wall, access gate and round table on its side were in view.
Only the arm of the person who fired the gun was visible, but the deputy looked at the account's older posts -- including selfies -- and recognized a 14-year-old boy whom he'd previously investigated and who had used a different account to post similar videos.
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The teen showed off the handgun in one post -- revealing its serial number. A records check showed the gun was registered to his brother, according to the warrant, and their home address was confirmed.
The deputy requested the sheriff's helicopter fly over the home. The flight officer confirmed the backyard, including the table on its side, matched what the deputy saw in the video. A judge then signed the warrant, which was served Dec. 18.