Youth softball coaches find heavily armed man living in shed near ball field, cops say

Youth coaches collecting equipment for a girls softball practice Monday evening made a startling discovery when they found a 37-year-old man had moved into a park storage shed, KTLA reported.

The coaches told the man, identified by police as Ruben Perez, that he had to leave the storage room at Carl Thornton Park in Santa Ana, California, reported KCBS.

“He became aggressive towards them, called them snitches and that he was going to get his gun,” said Cpl. Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police Department, according to KABC.

The coaches cleared the ball field and called police, who arrested Perez following a short struggle, reported KTLA.

Inside the storage room, police found a .45 caliber pistol and 18 magazines of ammunition in various calibers, reported The Orange County Register.

“Everything was stolen,” Bertagna said, according to the publication.

In all, Perez had 550 to 650 rounds of ammunition, along with a vest for carrying the magazines, according to KABC.

“We could’ve had an active shooter scenario on a softball field,” Bertagna said, according to the station. “There’s a lot of different things he could’ve done with that much ammo and with the equipment he had.”

Perez faces charges including burglary, possession of stolen property and various weapons violations, reported The Orange County Register.

He’s also accused of being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm, reported KTLA.

This story was originally published December 12, 2018 at 8:13 AM with the headline "Youth softball coaches find heavily armed man living in shed near ball field, cops say."