By Robert J. Hansen
Newly-elected Winters Councilmember Richard Casavecchia was arrested on April 2 and charged with being in possession of a firearm without a serial number, according to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office.
Casavecchia was arrested on April 2 by Winters police, initially charging him with corporal injury upon a spouse and false imprisonment, according to Winters PD.
The council member could not be reached for comment.
Casavecchia and his wife had a “disagreement” the day before his arrest, according to his attorney, Mike Wise.
“Casavecchia and his wife had a disagreement,” Wise said in an email. “The next day, Winters Police Department contacted Casavecchia about that disagreement.”
Casavecchia’s wife went to the police department to report an incident of domestic violence and to request a protection order, according to court records.
She also told police Casavecchia had a concealed weapons and other guns.
“At the time Casavecchia was contacted by [police], he was on his way [home] from the shooting range and was in possession of several firearms he had been using at the range,” Wise said.
Casavecchia was pulled over by Winters police and during the traffic stop, police found three handguns located in a black case inside defendant’s truck.
One of the handguns did not contain a serial number or any identifying information and was manufactured with several after market parts, according to the DA’s office.
Police later searched Casavecchia’s home where they found two assault rifles that were not registerd to him, court records show.
Wise said no charges were filed related to the “disagreement” between Casavecchia and 
his wife.
“A review of the reports from both the marital disagreement and the traffic stop led the Yolo DA to charge Casavecchia for possession of a firearm without a serial number,” Wise said.
The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to a request explaining which charges it chose to pursue.
Casavecchia has been charged with two counts of possession of assault rifle and one count of possession of a firearm without identifying mark.
In an email, Winters Mayor Bill Biasi said the arrest of Councilmember Casavecchia is a law enforcement matter and does not involve the City Council.
“Under the law, everyone is considered innocent until proven guilty,” Biasi said. “We need to respect that fact during this process. We respect the legal process and need to allow the police department and district attorney to do their job.”
Biasi said it isn’t appropriate for the Council to comment further on this matter and is leaving the matter to the police and DA, allowing the legal process to proceed as it would for any other citizen.
A pretrial conference is scheduled for May 17.
