Deputies Find ‘Ghost Gun’ During Vehicle Search in Vista

A 19-year-old felon faces multiple charges after deputies found him with a “ghost gun” during an encounter in Vista.

Just before 9 p.m. Wednesday, deputies from the Vista Sheriff’s Station Gang Enforcement Team made contact with three individuals sitting in a vehicle in the 100 block of Emerald Drive, according to San Diego County Sheriff’s Sgt. Seung Park.

He said they discovered a privately manufactured firearm and loaded magazine on the person in the driver’s seat, identified as Frankie Escovar.

Unlike commercially manufactured firearms, such firearms, better known as “ghost guns,” are not marked with serial numbers. There is no way to track their origins or their owners, making it difficult for law enforcement to investigate or solve a crime.

Deputies booked Escovar into the Vista Detention Facility on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, among other charges.