A 46-year-old Turlock man peddling his bicycle in Ceres early Monday was arrested after trying to flee from police and dropping a loaded handgun in the process.

At 1:05 a.m., Officer Jordan Justice was patrolling the area of Hatch Road and Richland Avenue when he attempted to stop Jose Gutierrez for vehicle code violations. Gutierrez peddled faster in an attempt to evade the officer and attempted to make a quick turn into the driveway of a residence in the 1700 block of Darby Lane but fell off the bike. Officer Justice tackled the suspect who resisted while a loaded firearm fell out of his waistband.

He continued to resist until responding officers arrived and helped take Gutierrez into custody.

A records check revealed Gutierrez was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition. He was arrested on charges of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition, carrying a loaded firearm, carrying a firearm not registered to him and resisting arrest. He was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center.