Man toting loaded rifle aboard RT bus arrested, Sacramento sheriff’s deputies say

A man carrying a loaded rifle in a backpack aboard a Sacramento Regional Transit bus was arrested Monday by Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies on weapons charges, authorities said.

A tip led deputies to the 21-year-old as he rode a transit bus near Routier Road and Ellenwood Drive in Rancho Cordova, the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted to social media.

Video from the bus showed the man seated in the rear with what appeared to be a rifle inside a tote or backpack, sheriff’s officials said.

The Regional Transit driver stopped the bus to speak with responding deputies. As deputies arrived, the man exited the bus and walked toward them, authorities said.

Deputies detained the man and found an unregistered, loaded firearm inside the backpack, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The man was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail and later released. He was scheduled to appear Wednesday in Sacramento Superior Court on the charges.

Darrell Smith

The Sacramento Bee

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Darrell Smith is a local reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He joined The Bee in 2006 and previously worked at newspapers in Palm Springs, Colorado Springs and Marysville. Smith was born and raised at Beale Air Force Base and lives in Elk Grove.