A young couple from the west side of the county was arrested during a Saturday evening public domestic fight that grew tense for officers when commands were ignored and a loaded firearm was found on the man involved.

At 6:34 p.m., Officer Samuel Becerra pulled into the Cost Less shopping center on Hatch Road to back up other officers who were on a vehicle stop. However, his attention soon focused on a man and woman engaged in what appeared to be a heated argument in front of the Laundryday. Officer Becerra intervened and separated the two to de-escalate the incident. As Officer Becerra spoke to 20-year-old Patterson resident Mariono Maese, he noticed the suspect keeping his hand near a pronounced item bulging from a front pocket. The officer immediately suspected it was a firearm.

Officer Becerra did a pat down search for weapons, Maese began pulling away. That’s when the woman, Kelalohilani Tufono, 19, of Newman, tried to interfere and ignored commands to back off. She was detained by backup officers.

Maese continued to pull away and had to be forced to the ground where he was handcuffed. He was arrested for obstructing/resisting/delaying an officer and carrying a concealed weapon on his person.

Kelalohilani was also booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center  for obstructing and delaying an officer.