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CRIME DIGEST
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• BURGLARY SUSPECTS APPREHENDED: CERES - Two persons were arrested Sept. 10 after an officer found them with tools believed used in commercial burglaries.

Officer Pat Dayton made a traffic stop on a truck that matched the description of a vehicle seen at the July 5 burglary of Staples on Hatch Road. Inside the truck the officer found pry bars, bolt cutters, gloves and flashlights. A search of the suspects' home yielded evidence from the Staples burglary.

David Avena, 43, was charged with possession of burglary tools and possession of stolen property. His accomplice, Ameya Acosta, 45, was charged with possession of stolen property.

Avena was driving the truck on a suspended license and Acosta had warrants for her arrest.

Suspects used a blow torch to cut through doors of Staples. Taken in the early morning burglary were flat screen TVs and computers. Early on the morning of July 1 a similar burglary took place at Richland Ace Hardware in which power tools were taken.

Only evidence from the Staples burglary was found in Avena's home, said Detective James Robbins.

• ATTEMPTED MURDER: CERES - A 21-year-old Ceres man was arrested and charged with attempted murder in connection with Saturday's shooting of a man on Fifth Street.

At approximately 1:49 a.m., police dispatchers received a 911 call from Gary Fleming, 38, of Ceres, who said he had been shot and was dropped off in the area of Standford Avenue and Tenth Street. Fleming suffered a single gun shot to his left arm from a handgun. He was bleeding profusely and was rushed to Doctors Medical Center by ambulance.

Investigators learned Fleming was a guest at a party held at a home in the 2500 block of Fifth Street. He got involved in a heated argument with the host, Donald Sexton, 21, of Ceres. After the argument, Fleming walked to the front of the home where he was confronted by Sexton. Witnesses said Sexton shot several times into the air and then fired at Fleming.

Fleming was reportedly in serious condition.

Sexton fled his home but was later found there while police executed a search at approximately 9 a.m. Sexton was taken into custody by Detective Jason Coley without incident. He was booked at the Stanislaus County Jail for attempted murder.

Ceres Police Detectives later served a search warrant at the scene of the shooting but the handgun was not found.

Detectives Jason Coley and Tonya Smith are urging any witnesses with information on the case to contact them at 538-5729.

• GUN, DRUGS FOUND IN CAR: CERES - Having his headlights off while driving caused police to stop Eric R. Branham, 32, of Modesto Sept. 22 and led to discoveries of a gun and drugs.

At 12:01 a.m. officer Dan Fairchilds stopped Branham's car in the 2700 block of Whitmore Avenue. Branham was driving on a suspended license. During a pat-down search, Fairchilds found a bullet in Branham's pocket and asked about the gun. Branham said it was under his seat. A search produced a Raven 25 gun along with methamphetamine and hypodermic needles. Branham was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a hypodermic kit, being an ex-felon in possession of a handgun and possession of methamphetamine. Branham was also charged with falsifying an automobile registration because his car bore 2010 license tags even though he had last registered his car in 2008.

• CHILD ENDANGERMENT ALLEGED: CERES - A 25-year-old father was arrested Wednesday, Sept. 23 for unsafely giving his unprotected two-year-old toddler son a ride on a motor scooter.

At 6:21 p.m. persons were calling 911 to report that Kevin L. Green, 25, of Modesto, was riding a scooter in the 2400 block of Mauna Kea. Officer Joe Wren spotted Green steering the scooter with one hand while holding his diaper-clad son on his lap with the other hand. Wren estimated that Green was riding at 30 mph.

Green was arrested for child endangerment and possession of a small amount of marijuana.

The child was turned over to his mother.

• CAR JACKING SUSPECT ARRESTED: CERES - Maurice Purnell, 29, of Modesto, shouldn't have been riding a bicycle without lights in the dark last week, especially since he was wanted for robbery and carjacking in Modesto.

At 7:55 p.m. on Sept. 23 Street Crimes Unit officer Jeremy Caron spotted Purnell cycling in the 1600 block of Evans Road. Caron ran Purnell's identification through the warrant check system and learned that he was wanted for robbery and carjacking. Purnell sensed he was about to be arrested and took off on foot. He was later found hiding in the 1700 block of Norwood Heights by officer Joe Wren and police canine Axel.

In addition to the warrants, Purnell faces a new charge in resisting arrest.

• STORE RIP-OFF HALTED: CERES - Two persons were arrested Sept. 23 after they allegedly tried stealing merchandise from the 99 Cents Only store at 1450 E. Hatch Road.

Carl M. Bridges, 50, of Ceres, and Julie Arante, 46, of Modesto, were reported by store personnel to be stealing items in a bag by walking out of the door without paying for them. The pair claimed they had when but police were called at 9:08 p.m.

Bridges was arrested on charges of petty theft with prior conviction, and conspiracy to commit theft. While being booked into the County Jail, deputies found methamphetamine stashed in Bridges' sock.

Arante was charged with possession of stolen property, petty theft and conspiracy to commit a crime.

• THREE ARRESTED ON DARRAH: CERES - Three men were arrested on Darrah Street early Thursday morning for various charges while two others were cited for drinking in public.

According to Deputy Police Chief Mike Borges, dispatchers were called at 12:50 a.m. about a suspicious person getting into a vehicle in the 1900 block of Darrah Street. Officers arrived and checked out Eddie Jackson, 23, of Ceres, who was wanted for possession of drug paraphernalia. Officers issued administrative citations to Michael Guptin, 19, and Bradlei Britt, 23, both of Ceres, for drinking in public.

Later as officers were following up at 1:30 a.m., they made contact with two men in an alley. One of the men became very aggressive with officers and refused to show his hands. James Edmonds, 37, of Salida, took a swing at one of the officers but missed. He was charged with resisting arrest and was taken to Mental Health for evaluation. Edmonds may also be charged with being under the influence.

Andre Ramsey, 28, of Sacramento, was arrested on a warrant.

• DUI ARREST: CERES - Vanessa L. Milinazzo, 23, of Modesto, was arrested for DUI in the 900 block of Mitchell Road after officer Joe Wren heard her vehicle speeding and driving erratically and then saw her hit a curb. Milinazzo's said she struck something in Turlock and damaged her car, which was causing tire noise.

Her arrest came at 4 a.m. on Friday. Sept. 25.

• SYRINGES LAND PAIR IN TROUBLE: CERES - Two Ceres residents went to jail Friday after they were seen in a car on Third Street and were determined to be under the influence of drugs.

At 5:11 a.m. Officer Josh Klinge spotted a suspicious vehicle parked near the new TID building in the 2900 block of Third Street. Hypodermic syringes were found by the officer.

Keith Moss, 41, and Karen Key, 37, were arrested and charged with possession of a hypodermic kit and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

• SUSPECT DIDN'T LEARN THE FIRST TIME: CERES - A Ceres man was arrested twice in less than 24 hours' time for committing various crimes.

At 3 p.m. on Saturday, officer Freddie Ortiz saw a 1995 Toyota Camry being worked on near apartments in the 3100 block of Central Avenue. As he approached the car he saw Jorge L.V. Rosas, 21, of Ceres, begin to leave and fake like he was entering an apartment which had a padlocked door. Rosas said he was visiting friends in the complex but when residents were interviewed nobody claimed to know him.

Rosas had a shaved key for a Toyota, commonly known as a burglary tool. Rosas claims he was test driving the Toyota for a friend. He was arrested and booked on charges of possession of burglary tools.

Rosas was out of jail on bail and spotted by the same officer at 11:32 a.m. Sunday at the same car with its hood up. Rosas saw Ortiz and took off running. During the chase Rosas was seen tossing an item onto a roof which was later retrieved and proven to be 18 grams of heroin inside of balloons.

Rosas was charged with possession of a controlled substance, transportation of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale, and resisting arrest.

The car was possibly being stripped, said Deputy Police Chief Mike Borges.