• DUI ARRESTS: CERES - Two men were arrested in separate drunk driving incidents occurring Monday, Nov. 23.
At 6:51 p.m. Officer Freddie Ortiz was in the area of Morgan Road and Tranquil Lane when he spotted a car with no working tail lights. He pulled over Harvey A. Jackson, 48, of Ceres, and saw him trying to conceal something.A search produced Vicodin for which Jackson had no prescription. Jackson was arrested for driving on a suspended license (for prior DUIs) as well as new charges of DUI and possession of a controlled substance.
At 10:48 p.m. Officer Jon Vera stopped a car in the 2800 block of Malik Drive for a vehicle without working brake lights. Vera saw that driver Jose M. Avila, 52, of Ceres, had an open bottle of beer in the car. Avila was arrested for DUI.
• MAN ESCAPES IMPERSONATION CHARGE: CERES - A Ceres man came close to being arrested for impersonating an officer on Tuesday, Nov. 24 but escaped charges because of a strict wording of the law.
Police were called at 11:36 p.m. by someone in the 2000 block of Bavil Drive saying that a Ceres policeman in an unmarked vehicle was driving recklessly and may have struck another vehicle as he left with lights and siren. Deputy Chief Mike Borges said that no police personnel were in the area but while responding to the call an officer was flagged down by a man at Central and Walnut. Police found a man inside a vehicle lettered "Ceres Police" and "Stanislaus County" with a siren and red and blue lights. The man said he was a good citizen out "doing his part to protect the community." The man said he heard screaming and confronted individuals. He also said he was working on a missing persons case and had people chasing him.
Despite the fact that the man told others that he was with the Ceres Police Department, he technically could not be arrested for impersonating an officer, said Borges, because he did not make an arrest, nor detain anyone.
• THANKSGIVING DUI ARRESTS: CERES - Three men went to jail on Thanksgiving and the following day for drunk driving charges.
Officer Brian Peterson made three of the arrests, one as he was taking a DUI suspect to be blood tested at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto.
The first arrest came at 6:46 p.m. when Officer Dirk Nieuwenhuis arrested a man on Boothe Road after he failed to stop at Whitmore Avenue. Driver Gurnam Singh, 47, of Modesto, was determined to be intoxicated.
Then at 9:47 p.m., Officer Peterson arrested Juan Montel, 33, of Ceres, after he allegedly drove drunk into a street sign and road dividers on Hatch Road in front of Jack In The Box and then fled on foot. Peterson found Montel trying to get into his home not far from the hit-and-run crash scene. Montel was arrested for DUI, driving on a suspended license and hit-and-run.
At 11:07 p.m. as Peterson was driving Montel to Modesto for the blood test, he encountered yet another drunk driver. Peterson saw the driver next to him blow through a red light at McHenry and Orangeburg. Driver Richard K. Severeid, 48, of Modesto, was arrested for DUI.
Later at 2:09 a.m. Friday when Peterson was patrolling in the area of Bystrum and Joyce, he stopped a driver whose vehicle had tinted front windows. Inside the vehicle he detected the strong odor of alcohol. Passenger Frankie Candia Jr., 25, of Modesto, was arrested for public drunkeness and two warrants for driving on a suspended license. Driver Robert L. Pollard, 24, of Los Angeles, was charged with DUI.
• WOMAN CHARGED IN BURGLARY: CERES - A Ceres woman was arrested Saturday evening after she was caught inside a home while committing a burglary, said Deputy Chief Mike Borges.
A Ceres couple came home in the 3100 block of Burton Road at 5:26 p.m. and interrupted a burglary. Police arrived and found Jennifer Sharp, 28, of Ceres, hiding in a closet. Police say that she made entry through a side door and was in the house to steal jewelry and other valuables.
Sharp was charged with residential burglary.
• PURSE SNATCHED AT KMART: CERES - A 69-year-old woman was pushed down from behind by a purse snatcher as she was leaving the Hatch Road Kmart at 8:48 p.m. on Sunday. The purse snatcher made off with the woman's purse and cash inside.
The suspect was described as a Latino man between the ages of 25-30, standing approximately 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-9 and weighing 185 pounds. He was wearing a black sweatshirt with a white marijuana leaf design on it, and black and gray shorts. The suspect ran to an awaiting white 1999 or 2000 Dodge Neon or a car similar to it. The driver fled westbound on Herndon Road with the suspect.
Anyone with information on the suspect is urged to call Ceres detectives at 538-5727.
At 6:51 p.m. Officer Freddie Ortiz was in the area of Morgan Road and Tranquil Lane when he spotted a car with no working tail lights. He pulled over Harvey A. Jackson, 48, of Ceres, and saw him trying to conceal something.A search produced Vicodin for which Jackson had no prescription. Jackson was arrested for driving on a suspended license (for prior DUIs) as well as new charges of DUI and possession of a controlled substance.
At 10:48 p.m. Officer Jon Vera stopped a car in the 2800 block of Malik Drive for a vehicle without working brake lights. Vera saw that driver Jose M. Avila, 52, of Ceres, had an open bottle of beer in the car. Avila was arrested for DUI.
• MAN ESCAPES IMPERSONATION CHARGE: CERES - A Ceres man came close to being arrested for impersonating an officer on Tuesday, Nov. 24 but escaped charges because of a strict wording of the law.
Police were called at 11:36 p.m. by someone in the 2000 block of Bavil Drive saying that a Ceres policeman in an unmarked vehicle was driving recklessly and may have struck another vehicle as he left with lights and siren. Deputy Chief Mike Borges said that no police personnel were in the area but while responding to the call an officer was flagged down by a man at Central and Walnut. Police found a man inside a vehicle lettered "Ceres Police" and "Stanislaus County" with a siren and red and blue lights. The man said he was a good citizen out "doing his part to protect the community." The man said he heard screaming and confronted individuals. He also said he was working on a missing persons case and had people chasing him.
Despite the fact that the man told others that he was with the Ceres Police Department, he technically could not be arrested for impersonating an officer, said Borges, because he did not make an arrest, nor detain anyone.
• THANKSGIVING DUI ARRESTS: CERES - Three men went to jail on Thanksgiving and the following day for drunk driving charges.
Officer Brian Peterson made three of the arrests, one as he was taking a DUI suspect to be blood tested at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto.
The first arrest came at 6:46 p.m. when Officer Dirk Nieuwenhuis arrested a man on Boothe Road after he failed to stop at Whitmore Avenue. Driver Gurnam Singh, 47, of Modesto, was determined to be intoxicated.
Then at 9:47 p.m., Officer Peterson arrested Juan Montel, 33, of Ceres, after he allegedly drove drunk into a street sign and road dividers on Hatch Road in front of Jack In The Box and then fled on foot. Peterson found Montel trying to get into his home not far from the hit-and-run crash scene. Montel was arrested for DUI, driving on a suspended license and hit-and-run.
At 11:07 p.m. as Peterson was driving Montel to Modesto for the blood test, he encountered yet another drunk driver. Peterson saw the driver next to him blow through a red light at McHenry and Orangeburg. Driver Richard K. Severeid, 48, of Modesto, was arrested for DUI.
Later at 2:09 a.m. Friday when Peterson was patrolling in the area of Bystrum and Joyce, he stopped a driver whose vehicle had tinted front windows. Inside the vehicle he detected the strong odor of alcohol. Passenger Frankie Candia Jr., 25, of Modesto, was arrested for public drunkeness and two warrants for driving on a suspended license. Driver Robert L. Pollard, 24, of Los Angeles, was charged with DUI.
• WOMAN CHARGED IN BURGLARY: CERES - A Ceres woman was arrested Saturday evening after she was caught inside a home while committing a burglary, said Deputy Chief Mike Borges.
A Ceres couple came home in the 3100 block of Burton Road at 5:26 p.m. and interrupted a burglary. Police arrived and found Jennifer Sharp, 28, of Ceres, hiding in a closet. Police say that she made entry through a side door and was in the house to steal jewelry and other valuables.
Sharp was charged with residential burglary.
• PURSE SNATCHED AT KMART: CERES - A 69-year-old woman was pushed down from behind by a purse snatcher as she was leaving the Hatch Road Kmart at 8:48 p.m. on Sunday. The purse snatcher made off with the woman's purse and cash inside.
The suspect was described as a Latino man between the ages of 25-30, standing approximately 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-9 and weighing 185 pounds. He was wearing a black sweatshirt with a white marijuana leaf design on it, and black and gray shorts. The suspect ran to an awaiting white 1999 or 2000 Dodge Neon or a car similar to it. The driver fled westbound on Herndon Road with the suspect.
Anyone with information on the suspect is urged to call Ceres detectives at 538-5727.
