On April 6, 2018 at 12:44 PM, the Merced Police Department dispatch center received a call from the Amtrak Police regarding a disorderly man. An anonymous reporting party stated that an individual on the train had talked about shooting someone and being under the influence of drugs. A second reporting party stated that they had seen the subject with a handgun. The reporting parties initially could not provide a clothing and physical description of the suspect. 

Officers met the train at the Amtrak Station and coordinated with the train conductor to evacuate the train and search for the suspect. During the search, addition information came in describing the suspect as a white male with tattoos. Officers located an individual on the train who matched the description and was acting erratically. That subject was detained. After removing that subject from the train, officers were approached by witnesses who stated that we had the wrong subject. These witnesses pointed out an African-American male as the correct suspect and he was detained. Both individuals were cooperative.

Their investigation determined that neither of the subjects were in possession of a firearm, nor had they committed any crime. Both subjects were released without charges and continued their train trip.

Merced Police are asking anyone with any information regarding any crime to contact the Merced Police Department at (209) 385-6900, or the Merced Police Department Tipster Line at (209) 385-4725. The public can send information via anonymous text messages to police department by dialing “TIP411” (847411) and including the word “Comvip” as the “keyword” in the text message.