KNIFE-WIELDING MAN STANDS IN ROAD: SOUTH MODESTO - Stanislaus County Sheriff's deputies and the California Highway Patrol arrested a man who was standing on South Seventh Street with a knife in his hand on Wednesday, April 1.
The man, who had stabbed himself in the arms and wrists, was talked out of putting down the knife after a 30-minute standoff. He was rushed to a Modesto hospital for medical treatment.
At approximately 4:30 p.m. a witness flagged down a deputy at Seventh Street and Morgan Road saying the man was standing on Seventh Street under the Hatch Road overpass. South Seventh Street was blocked off to vehicular traffic until 5:10 p.m.
BODY IDENTIFIED: SOUTH MODESTO - The man's body found in a weed-covered field at Olivero and Crows Landing roads in South Modesto on March 31 was identified as that of Richard Flores, 39, a transient.
The body, which bore no signs of trauma, may have been in the field for less than a week.
The cause of death won't be determined until the results of a toxicology report come back.
Flores has relatives in Stanislaus County.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 521-4636.
ARRESTED FOR SPOUSAL ABUSE: CERES - Mark Lee, 44, of Ceres, was arrested March 24for spousal abuse after he allegedly punched his girlfriend in the face during an argument at his home in the 1700 block of Richland Avenue.
At 2:44 p.m. dispatchers received a call of a woman stabbed in the neck with a knife. Officer Keith Kitcher responded and found that the 30-year-old woman was not stabbed, but did suffer an injury to her right eye.
TINTED WINDOWS LEAD TO ARREST: CERES - Two men were arrested after the car they were riding in was stopped for tinted side windows.
Officer Brian Petersen was patrolling in the 1300 block of Whitmore Avenue at 9:43 p.m. on March 24 when he spotted the car for illegally tinted windows. Driver Roger John, 23, of Turlock, and Trisha Castrillo, 24 of Modesto, were arrested on drug charges. John was determined to be under the influence of a control substance and on active probation. He was arrested for being under the influence of a control substance as well as violating his probation. Castrillo was arrested for possession of a control substance, after a search of her purse located what police believe was methamphetamine, and additional amount was located concealed on her.
DRIVE-BY SHOOTING ON BLAKER ROAD: CERES - A 2007 Nissan and house in the 3000 block of Blaker Road were hit by bullets sprayed at 11:22 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24.
Police said multiple rounds were fired in the drive-by attack. One bullet entered the upstairs of the house next to the room where a six-year-old child was sleeping. This incident does not appear to be gang related. Police have no suspects but did recover evidence at the scene. Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives or Street Crimes Unit at 538-5727 or 538-5740.
AWOL SOLDIER ARRESTED: CERES - A fight led to the arrest of two men, one being an Army soldier who went AWOL, on Yellow Brick Road March 25.
Police were dispatched at 1:52 a.m. to the 900 block of Yellow Brick Road where the fight allegedly took place.
Alexander Deluna, 21, of Ceres, was found to be a deserter from the Army and was arrested on an AWOL warrant issued by the Army.
Also arrested was Aaron Webster, 27, of Turlock, who was wanted for an outstanding Ceres warrant for spousal battery.
An intoxicated 17-year-old Ceres girl at the scene was turned over to her parents.
DRUNK DRIVER APPREHENDED: CERES - While Sgt. Allen McKay and Officer Chris Melton were handling a March 25 call in the Punjab Plaza shopping center at Central Avenue and Pine Street, they witnessed a drunk driver drive into the parking lot and get out of his car. The officers saw Anthony Costa, 38, of Ceres, stagger out of his vehicle approximately 15 feet from the officers as he headed to the store.
He was arrested at 11:11 p.m. for driving under the influence. He is currently on probation for a similar offense from November.
POLICE: DRUNK STRIKES WIFE, DAUGHTER: CERES - A 41-year-old Ceres man was arrested March 26 for assaulting his wife and daughter during a fit of rage.
Gerald Clemins 41, of Ceres, faces charges of domestic violence after he allegedly got drunk and battered the two members of his family who lives in the 2700 block of Rosewood. Officer Coey Henson said Clemins inflicted minor injuries on his 41-year-old wife, then hurt their 16-year-old daughter when she tried to intervene. When Henson tried to arrest Clemins he fought back and gained another charge of resisting arrest. Clemins is being charged with spousal abuse and child endangerment.
The call came in at 12:42 a.m.
STALKING ALLEGED: CERES - A 33-year-old Modesto man was arrested March 27 after his ex-girlfriend alleged that he was stalking her and feared for her life.
Officer Chris Melton was flagged down by a 35-year-old woman as he was patrolling at 1:23 a.m. She said Marcus Ellman was violating a criminal restraining order due to prior domestic battery. She told the officer that he was going to kill her. Ellman was found with a12-inch screwdriver hidden in the small of his back.
Ellman was arrested for violating a protective order, possession of a dangerous weapon and probation violation.
CHILD HURT IN HIT-AND-RUN: CERES - Police are searching for the motorist who struck a 14-year-old boy on a bicycle and then sped off.
The accident occurred at 10:16 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, in the 1400 block of Hatch Road in front of Home Depot. The boy was riding his bike across Hatch Road when the light turned green and a vehicle traveling westbound at approximately 45 miles per hour shot through the crosswalk past cars which were stopped for the child. The child was hit and thrown about 60 feet and suffered a broken pelvis, kidney lacerations, head injuries as well as a scrapes and serious cuts. The driver fled the scene westbound on Hatch, in what is described as a possible tan Ford Aerostar van. Anyone with information on the driver should call Ceres Police at 538-5723.
DRUNK PASSES OUT IN STRANGERS' HOME: CERES - Residents in the 2300 block of Beachwood Drive were startled to find a stranger passed out on their living room couch drunk early on the morning of March 29.
Police received a call at 3:36 a.m. from a neighbor who saw Stephen Metcalf, 22, of Ceres, get out of a car parked in the street and walk into the backyard. Officers Chris Melton and Darren Venn asked for permission to check the yard and home and found Metcalf, who is unknown to the residents, lying on the couch. Metcalf entered through an unlocked back door. In front of the house, Metcalf's car had front-end damage and a flat tire. Officers traced a roadway scuff, left by the flat tire, to Central and Hollister where evidence suggested that Metcalf drove up on the curb and over a street sign. The roadway scuff showed that the car missed several parked cars and hit the curb multiple times before he fled the scene.
Metcalf was arrested for DUI, trespassing and hit and run.
MAN ALLEGES WOMAN TRIED TO RUN HIM OVER: CERES - A man who was working at an apartment complex at 3013 Tenth Street told police that a drunk woman tried to run him over with her car at 11:50 a.m. on March 31.
Dispatchers received a call from the 35-year-old man who reported that Lona Hatley, 45, of Ceres, was yelling at tenants and knocking on numerous apartment doors looking for someone. As police were being calls, Hatley got in her car, saw him on the phone and began to drive at him. He jumped out the way. Hatley got out and started yelling, asking if the man was calling police. She began swinging her hands at him as he was still on the phone. A witness took the keys out of the ignition, and when she went to her car and realized her keys were gone she began to walk off. Hartley was located in the 2600 block of Lawrence and arrested for DUI.
The 35-year-old male declined to press charges for the assault.
SUSPECT HIT WITH BATON: CERES - A burglary suspect was struck by a police baton late March 30 after he resisted arrest.
At 11:14 p.m., Sgt. Chris Perry stopped Michael Harris 43, of Atwater, on his bicycle at Fourth Street and Magnolia Avenue. Harris took off away from Perry and dumped the bike at Magnolia and Fifth and ran northbound through the Franklin & Downs Funeral Home lot. Perry began chasing him on foot southbound on Fifth Street where he saw Harris was reaching into his waistband. Harris continued to run east into an overgrown dirt field at the corner of Fifth and North. Harris was caught and taken into custody. While being held on the ground Harris refused to show his hands to Perry and was struck with a baton to gain compliance. Harris was arrested for resisting arrest, possession of burglary tools, and being under the influence of a control substance. Perry believed that Harris may have discarded drugs during the chase. He told the officer that he ran because he thought he had a warrant out of Merced County.
GUN SEIZED: CERES - A Modesto teen was arrested for concealing a semi-auto handgun during a car stop on March 29. Daniel Rojas 19, of Modesto, was arrested at 11:02 p.m. when officer Brian Petersen made the stop in the 1700 block of Hatch Road. Driver Lazaro Vazquez 19, of Modesto, had a suspended license. Rojas, who was on probation and searchable, lied about his age at first.
The man, who had stabbed himself in the arms and wrists, was talked out of putting down the knife after a 30-minute standoff. He was rushed to a Modesto hospital for medical treatment.
At approximately 4:30 p.m. a witness flagged down a deputy at Seventh Street and Morgan Road saying the man was standing on Seventh Street under the Hatch Road overpass. South Seventh Street was blocked off to vehicular traffic until 5:10 p.m.
BODY IDENTIFIED: SOUTH MODESTO - The man's body found in a weed-covered field at Olivero and Crows Landing roads in South Modesto on March 31 was identified as that of Richard Flores, 39, a transient.
The body, which bore no signs of trauma, may have been in the field for less than a week.
The cause of death won't be determined until the results of a toxicology report come back.
Flores has relatives in Stanislaus County.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 521-4636.
ARRESTED FOR SPOUSAL ABUSE: CERES - Mark Lee, 44, of Ceres, was arrested March 24for spousal abuse after he allegedly punched his girlfriend in the face during an argument at his home in the 1700 block of Richland Avenue.
At 2:44 p.m. dispatchers received a call of a woman stabbed in the neck with a knife. Officer Keith Kitcher responded and found that the 30-year-old woman was not stabbed, but did suffer an injury to her right eye.
TINTED WINDOWS LEAD TO ARREST: CERES - Two men were arrested after the car they were riding in was stopped for tinted side windows.
Officer Brian Petersen was patrolling in the 1300 block of Whitmore Avenue at 9:43 p.m. on March 24 when he spotted the car for illegally tinted windows. Driver Roger John, 23, of Turlock, and Trisha Castrillo, 24 of Modesto, were arrested on drug charges. John was determined to be under the influence of a control substance and on active probation. He was arrested for being under the influence of a control substance as well as violating his probation. Castrillo was arrested for possession of a control substance, after a search of her purse located what police believe was methamphetamine, and additional amount was located concealed on her.
DRIVE-BY SHOOTING ON BLAKER ROAD: CERES - A 2007 Nissan and house in the 3000 block of Blaker Road were hit by bullets sprayed at 11:22 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24.
Police said multiple rounds were fired in the drive-by attack. One bullet entered the upstairs of the house next to the room where a six-year-old child was sleeping. This incident does not appear to be gang related. Police have no suspects but did recover evidence at the scene. Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives or Street Crimes Unit at 538-5727 or 538-5740.
AWOL SOLDIER ARRESTED: CERES - A fight led to the arrest of two men, one being an Army soldier who went AWOL, on Yellow Brick Road March 25.
Police were dispatched at 1:52 a.m. to the 900 block of Yellow Brick Road where the fight allegedly took place.
Alexander Deluna, 21, of Ceres, was found to be a deserter from the Army and was arrested on an AWOL warrant issued by the Army.
Also arrested was Aaron Webster, 27, of Turlock, who was wanted for an outstanding Ceres warrant for spousal battery.
An intoxicated 17-year-old Ceres girl at the scene was turned over to her parents.
DRUNK DRIVER APPREHENDED: CERES - While Sgt. Allen McKay and Officer Chris Melton were handling a March 25 call in the Punjab Plaza shopping center at Central Avenue and Pine Street, they witnessed a drunk driver drive into the parking lot and get out of his car. The officers saw Anthony Costa, 38, of Ceres, stagger out of his vehicle approximately 15 feet from the officers as he headed to the store.
He was arrested at 11:11 p.m. for driving under the influence. He is currently on probation for a similar offense from November.
POLICE: DRUNK STRIKES WIFE, DAUGHTER: CERES - A 41-year-old Ceres man was arrested March 26 for assaulting his wife and daughter during a fit of rage.
Gerald Clemins 41, of Ceres, faces charges of domestic violence after he allegedly got drunk and battered the two members of his family who lives in the 2700 block of Rosewood. Officer Coey Henson said Clemins inflicted minor injuries on his 41-year-old wife, then hurt their 16-year-old daughter when she tried to intervene. When Henson tried to arrest Clemins he fought back and gained another charge of resisting arrest. Clemins is being charged with spousal abuse and child endangerment.
The call came in at 12:42 a.m.
STALKING ALLEGED: CERES - A 33-year-old Modesto man was arrested March 27 after his ex-girlfriend alleged that he was stalking her and feared for her life.
Officer Chris Melton was flagged down by a 35-year-old woman as he was patrolling at 1:23 a.m. She said Marcus Ellman was violating a criminal restraining order due to prior domestic battery. She told the officer that he was going to kill her. Ellman was found with a12-inch screwdriver hidden in the small of his back.
Ellman was arrested for violating a protective order, possession of a dangerous weapon and probation violation.
CHILD HURT IN HIT-AND-RUN: CERES - Police are searching for the motorist who struck a 14-year-old boy on a bicycle and then sped off.
The accident occurred at 10:16 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, in the 1400 block of Hatch Road in front of Home Depot. The boy was riding his bike across Hatch Road when the light turned green and a vehicle traveling westbound at approximately 45 miles per hour shot through the crosswalk past cars which were stopped for the child. The child was hit and thrown about 60 feet and suffered a broken pelvis, kidney lacerations, head injuries as well as a scrapes and serious cuts. The driver fled the scene westbound on Hatch, in what is described as a possible tan Ford Aerostar van. Anyone with information on the driver should call Ceres Police at 538-5723.
DRUNK PASSES OUT IN STRANGERS' HOME: CERES - Residents in the 2300 block of Beachwood Drive were startled to find a stranger passed out on their living room couch drunk early on the morning of March 29.
Police received a call at 3:36 a.m. from a neighbor who saw Stephen Metcalf, 22, of Ceres, get out of a car parked in the street and walk into the backyard. Officers Chris Melton and Darren Venn asked for permission to check the yard and home and found Metcalf, who is unknown to the residents, lying on the couch. Metcalf entered through an unlocked back door. In front of the house, Metcalf's car had front-end damage and a flat tire. Officers traced a roadway scuff, left by the flat tire, to Central and Hollister where evidence suggested that Metcalf drove up on the curb and over a street sign. The roadway scuff showed that the car missed several parked cars and hit the curb multiple times before he fled the scene.
Metcalf was arrested for DUI, trespassing and hit and run.
MAN ALLEGES WOMAN TRIED TO RUN HIM OVER: CERES - A man who was working at an apartment complex at 3013 Tenth Street told police that a drunk woman tried to run him over with her car at 11:50 a.m. on March 31.
Dispatchers received a call from the 35-year-old man who reported that Lona Hatley, 45, of Ceres, was yelling at tenants and knocking on numerous apartment doors looking for someone. As police were being calls, Hatley got in her car, saw him on the phone and began to drive at him. He jumped out the way. Hatley got out and started yelling, asking if the man was calling police. She began swinging her hands at him as he was still on the phone. A witness took the keys out of the ignition, and when she went to her car and realized her keys were gone she began to walk off. Hartley was located in the 2600 block of Lawrence and arrested for DUI.
The 35-year-old male declined to press charges for the assault.
SUSPECT HIT WITH BATON: CERES - A burglary suspect was struck by a police baton late March 30 after he resisted arrest.
At 11:14 p.m., Sgt. Chris Perry stopped Michael Harris 43, of Atwater, on his bicycle at Fourth Street and Magnolia Avenue. Harris took off away from Perry and dumped the bike at Magnolia and Fifth and ran northbound through the Franklin & Downs Funeral Home lot. Perry began chasing him on foot southbound on Fifth Street where he saw Harris was reaching into his waistband. Harris continued to run east into an overgrown dirt field at the corner of Fifth and North. Harris was caught and taken into custody. While being held on the ground Harris refused to show his hands to Perry and was struck with a baton to gain compliance. Harris was arrested for resisting arrest, possession of burglary tools, and being under the influence of a control substance. Perry believed that Harris may have discarded drugs during the chase. He told the officer that he ran because he thought he had a warrant out of Merced County.
GUN SEIZED: CERES - A Modesto teen was arrested for concealing a semi-auto handgun during a car stop on March 29. Daniel Rojas 19, of Modesto, was arrested at 11:02 p.m. when officer Brian Petersen made the stop in the 1700 block of Hatch Road. Driver Lazaro Vazquez 19, of Modesto, had a suspended license. Rojas, who was on probation and searchable, lied about his age at first.
