Five men arrested on weapons charges after deputies respond to possible Merced kidnapping

Dec. 28—Five men were arrested by Merced County Sheriff's deputies for alleged illegal possession of weapons after investigators responded to a possible kidnapping.

Deputies received a report of a possible kidnapping in the 1200 block of Tahoe Street in Merced on Friday morning, according to a Sheriff's Office news release.

When deputies arrived on the scene they located five subjects armed with handguns and rifles, hiding near and under a parked car on the property.

Deputies located three rifles, four handguns, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition with high-capacity magazines.

Investigators contacted the reported missing person in Manteca and were able to speak to him. Manteca police were able to confirm the victim was OK.

Merced County Sheriff's detectives obtained a search warrant later Friday morning and located more high-capacity magazines and a man who was determined not to be involved with the incident.

Deputies ultimately arrested five suspects: Gurtaj Singh, 30, of Merced, Gurlal Singh, 29, of Merced, Princepreet Singh, 22, of Merced, Harkirat Singh, 26, of Stockton, and Rajeev Ranjan, 23, of New York, on various weapons charges.

Bail is set for all five suspects was set at $20,000 each, according to jail records.

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