MENLO PARK — San Mateo County Sheriff’s deputies arrested two men during a traffic stop Friday morning in Menlo Park who were reportedly in possession of an explosive device, as well as stolen guns and tools from another burglary, according to officials.
Deputies stopped the two men reportedly in a “suspicious vehicle” traveling northbound on Interstate 280 onto Sand Hill Road, according to the Sheriff’s Office. During the stop, deputies reportedly saw gloves, flashlights, face masks and “other items commonly used in a burglary.”
Jose E. Matute Vaquedano, 25, was allegedly driving the vehicle without a license with Mauricio Peralta Marin, 27, in the passenger seat, according to authorities.
Deputies searched the vehicle and found Marin in possession of an illegal explosive device, as well as two stolen rifles registered to a Santa Cruz County resident that was reported missing in a residential burglary the previous night, police said.
Vaquedano was on probation for robbery and was prohibited from possessing firearms, authorities said. Deputies also allegedly found other stolen property, including several stolen tools, in the vehicle, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities arrested both men and booked them into the Maguire Correctional Facility on suspicion of possession of a firearm in a vehicle, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, possession of stolen property, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of burglary tools, possession of an explosive device and driving without a license.
Speaking publicly on a crime for the first time since recently swearing into office, Sheriff Ken Binder said in a statement that “every gun taken off of the street is a potential life saved.”
Binder replaces former Sheriff Christina Corpus, who county supervisors recently ousted amidst allegations of misconduct and abuse of power.
He previously served as interim police chief of Gilroy and briefly as acting sheriff in Santa Clara County after former Sheriff Laurie Smith resigned amid a corruption scandal over concealed carry weapons permits.