CHICO, CA — A Butte County teenager was arrested over the weekend after Chico police say a backpack he left inside a Taco Bell bathroom led officers to a loaded revolver and extra ammunition. Police said 18-year-old Collin Cuglietta is now facing multiple felony firearm charges.
The arrest happened Sunday evening after officers responded to a report involving a female juvenile who may have been under the influence and was with an adult man. Police said they found the pair on Esplanade and identified the man as Cuglietta. According to Chico police, he was carrying a backpack when officers first saw him, then went into a nearby Taco Bell.
Police say the backpack was left behind as officers arrived
Chico police said Cuglietta came out of the restaurant without the backpack as officers pulled into the parking lot. During questioning, he told officers the backpack was not his and that he had left it in the restaurant bathroom for a friend.
Officers treated the bag as abandoned property and recovered it. Police then searched the backpack and said they found a loaded revolver-style handgun along with a sock containing 27 additional rounds of ammunition. The discovery became the basis for the firearm-related arrest that followed.
Who officers say they encountered on Esplanade
The initial police response started around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, after the report of the juvenile and the adult man. Chico police have not said what condition the juvenile was in beyond the report that she may have been under the influence.
Authorities identified the man as Cuglietta, who was 18 at the time of the arrest. Police said the encounter on Esplanade and the later stop at the Taco Bell happened within the same response, with officers following the pair as the situation developed. The department said the arrest was made without incident.
Prior juvenile adjudications make the firearm allegation more serious
Chico police said Cuglietta has prior felony juvenile adjudications that bar him from possessing a firearm until he turns 30. That history is part of why the case is being handled as a felony firearm matter rather than a simple possession allegation.
Police said he is facing three potential felony charges. The department did not list the charges individually in the information released, but the recovered gun and ammunition were central to the case. Authorities said the legal restriction tied to his juvenile record makes possession itself prohibited under the circumstances described by investigators.
Booked into Butte County Jail after the weekend arrest
After the search and arrest, Chico police booked Cuglietta into Butte County Jail. Officers said the arrest happened without incident, and no one was reported injured during the encounter or the search of the backpack.
The case now moves into the county jail and court system, where the felony accusations will be reviewed. Police have not said whether anyone else may face charges in connection with the juvenile, the adult man, or the backpack left in the restaurant.
Why the Taco Bell stop became the turning point in the case
What began as a response to a report about a juvenile and an adult on Esplanade quickly shifted once officers saw the backpack and Cuglietta went into Taco Bell. Chico police said the bag was left behind in the restaurant bathroom and then recovered as abandoned property.
That decision became the key moment in the investigation, allowing officers to inspect the backpack and find the handgun and ammunition. Police said the combination of the loaded revolver-style firearm, the extra rounds, and Cuglietta’s prior felony juvenile adjudications led to the arrest and the felony case now moving forward.
