Paso Robles man suspected of stealing gun reports self to police
A Paso Robles man suspected of being under the influence of methamphetamine allegedly stole a shotgun from a home Tuesday night and then called police to report the crime before walking through a neighborhood brandishing the firearm.
At about 10:19 p.m., the Paso Robles Police Department received a series of reports of a man with a gun in a neighborhood near Trego Lane and Creston Road.
The first phone call came from an anonymous number, reporting a man carrying a gun on the 500 block of Creston Road. Other calls reported the man brandishing the shotgun while trespassing in residents’ backyards, and another resident reported a shotgun was stolen from their home in a burglary.
Each time officers responded, the suspect was able to elude them by running and hiding in the backyards of homes, according to a department news release.
Officers eventually traced the first call back to Paso Robles resident Nathan Adkins, 30, who had been previously arrested by the Police Department for drug-related offenses. The alleged victims identified Adkins as the suspect, and officers, with the assistance of a cellphone provider, tracked Adkins’ GPS-enabled mobile phone to where Adkins was hiding under a pickup on the 300 block of Veronica Lane.
Adkins led officers to the shotgun, which he had hidden in bushes nearby, police said. The Police Department said in the news release that it is unknown why Adkins reported himself to dispatchers, but “drug use is suspected as a contributing factor.”
He was arrested on suspicion of felony residential burglary, possession of stolen property and being a felon in possession of a firearm, as well as misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. A police report shows that paraphernalia to be methamphetamine-related, according to the department.
He was booked into San Luis Obispo County Jail, where he was no longer listed in custody as of Wednesday morning.
This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Paso Robles man suspected of stealing gun reports self to police."