A recently released inmate left the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office with a gun on Monday morning, officials say.
A sheriff's office civilian employee left his permitted concealed weapon in the bathroom of the jail lobby while taking a COVID-19 test, officials say.
Matthew Alexander Goldsmith, a 51-year-old transient who had just been released, is believed to have taken the gun from the bathroom before leaving the jail.
Officials say Goldsmith apparently left in a vehicle headed toward San Luis Obispo.
When officials realized that the gun was gone, they started an investigation and began a search for Goldsmith.
Sheriff's deputies, CHP and San Luis Obispo Police officers worked to locate Goldsmith. He was found about 45 minutes later near Santa Rosa St. and Foothill Blvd. in San Luis Obispo, and officials were able to recover the firearm.
Goldsmith was arrested and has been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
He was previously arrested on Sunday, Jan. 23, on charges of being drunk in public.
The sheriff's office says that in addition to a criminal investigation, officials are internally investigating the actions of the civilian employee.
