An abandoned gun at a San Mateo store led to the arrest of a man police say was a convicted felon.
Sione Laulea, 42, of San Mateo, was arrested Thursday on several firearms-related charges, police said Saturday.
Laulea was the subject of an investigation that started when an employee at a store near South Norfolk Street and Fashion Island Boulevard called police on September 26, 2024. The employee called after finding a bag with a gun in it.
Officers arrived on scene and collected the firearm, which they discovered was unregistered and loaded with ammunition.
Video footage inside the store showed a man driving a white Kia placing the bag in a shopping cart, but leaving the store with the bag still in the shopping cart.
Police identified the man as Laulea, who they later discovered was a convicted felon and was prohibited from possessing firearms.
An arrest warrant for the man and a search warrant for his home were subsequently approved.
Police arrested Laulea after seeing him driving the same white Kia along Highway 101. Officers also seized an AK-47-style assault rifle, ammunition, a bulletproof vest and firearm accessories during the raid on his home.
Laulea is currently being held in the San Mateo County Jail. He is charged with illegal possession of an assault weapon and criminal possession of a loaded firearm, ammunition and body armor.
