On Jan. 20 at about 6:45 a.m., Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office deputies assigned to roving patrol near the mandatory flood evacuation zone in Montecito observed a vehicle that was parked on the side of the road near Parma Park.

Deputies attempted to contact the occupant, who was concealing himself in the back seat with blankets.

After a couple minutes, the suspect, later identified as Robert Thomas from Colorado, exited the vehicle.

Deputies detected the strong odor of marijuana emanating from within the interior of the vehicle. Thomas admitted he had marijuana and was transporting it to Arizona from a recently cultivated marijuana growing operation in Oregon.

During a search of the interior of the vehicle, deputies located over one-half pound of marijuana packaged for sale in multiple baggies, a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun, and two high-capacity magazines.

Thomas was arrested for possession of a loaded, concealed firearm in a vehicle.

Additionally, deputies forwarded the report to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office requesting charges for possessing high-capacity magazines.

Thomas was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail and his bail was set at $35,000.