Anaheim man with AR-15 arrested on suspicion of evading police, fighting K-9 in Costa Mesa

Police arrested a 24-year-old Anaheim man who allegedly fled after an attempted traffic stop in Costa Mesa and fought with a police K-9 early Wednesday.

Police said an officer conducted a traffic stop for a vehicle code violation around 2 a.m. Arthur Barajas Jr. allegedly refused to stop and tried to evade Costa Mesa officers while he handled an item in the vehicle that was hidden from officers’ view.

Police say that item later was determined to be a loaded AR-15, abandoned in the front seat of the vehicle after the suspect crashed into a phone pole on Fairview and Wilson and fled on foot.

A perimeter was established and with assistance from an Orange County Sheriff’s Department helicopter and a Huntington Beach police dog, Barajas was found hiding in an apartment patio at the 200 block of Avocado Avenue, police said.

After Barajas refused to surrender, the K-9 was deployed while the suspect continued to fight. Officers then took Barajas into custody, and he was taken to a hospital for treatment of bite marks and a broken arm.

Barajas was booked on suspicion of evading a peace officer with wanton disregard for safety, carrying a stolen firearm, carrying a loaded firearm with a prior felony conviction, probation violation, hit and run by a runaway vehicle with property damage, failure to stop, revocation of PRCS, and obstructing a peace officer.