City of Santa Rosa, CA, CivicReady Public Safety Alerts & Notifications
SRPD News Release: SRPD K9 Ghost Locates Firearm in a Vehicle
SRPD K9 Ghost Locates Firearm in a Vehicle
On December 14, 2025, at approximately 6:45 p.m., officers with the Santa Rosa Police Department (SRPD) responded to a disturbance on Delfos Court. During their investigation, the officers learned there was an argument between two people outside of a residence and that one of the involved people, 30-year-old Santa Rosa resident Nicholas Vanthong, may have been concealing a firearm in his vehicle. Officers determined the firearm was not brandished during the argument but learned that in addition to Vanthong being prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition due to a prior felony conviction, he was also subject to search and seizure by court order.A K9 officer involved in the investigation deployed K9 Ghost, a cross-trained patrol and firearm detection dog, to assist in searching Vanthong’s vehicle. K9 Ghost alerted officers to the presence of a firearm near the front seats of the vehicle. Concealed underneath clothing on the middle front seat was a cardboard box containing a 9mm revolver and ammunition. When officers had initially arrived, Vanthong was sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, within arms reach of where the firearm was located.
A search of Vanthong’s residence on Delfos court did not uncover any additional evidence or contraband.
Vanthong was arrested and booked into Sonoma County Jail for the following offenses:
25400(a)(1) PC – Convicted felon carrying a concealed firearm
29800(a)(1) PC – Felon in possession of a firearm
30305(a)(1) PC – Felon in possession of ammunition
25850(a) PC – Possessing a loaded firearm in public
166(a)(4) PC – Violation of a court order
The Santa Rosa Police Department K9 Team consists of three highly trained Belgian Malinois and their dedicated handlers. Each team completes a 240-hour Police K9 Patrol Tactics course and trains weekly in areas such as handler protection, suspect detection, apprehension, and specialized narcotics or firearms detection. In January 2024, K9 Ghost was recognized by Congressman Mike Thompson for his individual efforts in locating 13 firearms in 2023. In all of 2024, the SRPD K9 Team alerted to the locations of 14 firearms. The Santa Rosa Police Department commends K9 Ghost and his handler, Officer Gonzales-Campos, for their exceptional work in helping keep our community safe.
Media inquiries can be made to Sgt. Patricia Seffens, Public Information Officer, at 707-543-3634 or pseffens@srcity.org.
