• DRUG RAIDS, ARREST MADE: CERES - A South Modesto man was arrested during one of two police raids made on two alleged unrelated drug operations on Thursday morning.
The Ceres Police Street Crimes Unit, investigators and SWAT Team simultaneously served two search warrants at two separate houses. At approximately 7:45 a.m., a search warrant was served at a home in the 900 block of Azores Lane in Ceres. Investigators received a tip about marijuana plants growing above the fence line and visible from the street. Police located a marijuana grow capable of producing over 75 pounds of finished product with a street value estimated at over $200,000. The case is under investigation and no arrests have been made at this time.
An arrest did come at the second search warrant served at a residence in the 1600 block of Atlantic Drive in south Modesto where police seized a half-pound of methamphetamine and evidence of drug sales. Alma Cervantes, 48, of Modesto, was arrested for possession for sale of narcotics.
Police focused their attention to the Cervantes residence due to reports of suspicious activity, such as a high volume of traffic at the residence.
Ceres Police are asking anyone with further information on these cases to contact Stanislaus Area Crime Stoppers at 1-866-60-CRIME or Ceres Police Street Crimes Unit Sgt. Dennis Perry at 538-5638.
• PATROL CARS STRUCK DURING PURSUIT: MODESTO - A police pursuit of a stolen vehicle on Sunday evening resulted in three Ceres patrol cars being damaged and one suspect facing arrest.
The pursuit began at 11:23 p.m. at Hatch Road and Herndon Avenue when Officer Josh Kling spotted a stolen vehicle occupied by two men. When the officer tried to stop the 1999 Honda Accord stolen out of Turlock, the driver accelerated eastbound on Hatch Road where Leon drove in the westbound lanes and turned north on Mitchell Road reaching speeds of 90 mph. The chase wound up in the Modesto Airport District.
The driver, later identified as Danny Jesse Leon, 33, of Modesto, lost control at Tenaya and Santa Cruz where he rammed three patrol vehicles as officers tried to block him in. Two vehicles were disabled with the third remaining in the pursuit.
Leon continued to flee, at one point trying to run Ceres officers off the road.
At Tenaya and Empire, Leon lost control and hit a chain-link fence and two mailboxes and hit one of the three Ceres patrol cars again. After traveling for another block, Leon lost control again and after being blocked fled the vehicle with the passenger going elsewhere. The passenger was not located despite a police perimeter being set up and a canine search of the area.
As Leon was running, he was struck and knocked to the ground by an arriving Modesto patrol unit. Ceres officers Kling and Brian Ferriera wrestled with Leon on the ground and arrested him. Leon was taken to Doctors Medical Center where he was medically cleared to be booked on charges of felony evasion, assault on peace officers with a deadly weapon, possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of stolen property, and resisting arrest.
Ceres Police Lt. Brent Smith said Leon was in prison for auto theft but recently released as part of the early release program designed by state lawmakers.
One Ceres officer sustained minor injuries but did not require medical attention.
• MARKET WINDOW SMASHED: CERES - Laos Oriental Market, 2600 Mitchell Road, was the victim of a window smash burglary committed at 2:13 a.m. over the weekend.
The business lost its cash register.
• PEDESTRIAN HIT: CERES - A 50-year-old Modesto man who was crossing Herndon Avenue outside the crosswalk was hit and injured by a car on Thursday.
Jerry Souza was crossing Herndon near Hatch Road at 9 a.m. when he was hit by a northbound 2004 Nissan Frontier. He was taken by ambulance to Doctors Medical Center for treatment of pain. Police said Souza caused the accident by not using a crosswalk nor yielding to the vehicle.
• WOMAN ARRESTED AFTER PUBLIC STRIPPING: CERES - A 31-year-old female was subdued after she began stripping her clothes off in the road near the 7-Eleven in the 1300 block of Herndon Avenue.
Police were called at 12:34 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 22, after the woman was seen lying in the road with her pants halfway off. Officer Coey Henson was the first to arrive and saw the woman - whose identity was not revealed - in the process of removing her clothes. By the time the second unit arrived she had removed pants and sat on hood of Henson's patrol car. Henson ordered her off, to which she took off her panties and the rest of her clothes. Henson grabbed the woman by the wrist but she struggled to get free. She was handcuffed and placed in the back of Henson's patrol car where she banged her head into the metal cage and attempted to eat her socks.
AMR ambulance paramedics arrived and strapped her to a gurney for transportation to Doctors Medical Center. She was committed for observation since she was unable to care for herself.
• MAN HITS GIRLFRIEND, STABS HIMSELF: CERES - Michael Walker, 36, of Ceres, was arrested Monday, Aug. 20, after allegedly striking his girlfriend during an argument and then stabbing himself in the leg with a steak knife.
Police were called to Walker's house in the 1900 block of Glen Ridge Drive at 3:26 a.m. for the domestic disturbance. Walker was reportedly upset about their future plans and that's when he struck the woman multiple times, police said. He stabbed himself before leaving on foot.
Walker was spotted by Officer Ross Bays walking down Mitchell Road. He was arrested on felony domestic violence charges but first treated at Doctors Medical Center.
A judge issued an emergency protective order for the female victim.
• STOLEN CAR STOPPED: CERES - Officers pulled over a stolen vehicle on Friday whose trunk yielded drugs as well as stolen items.
Officers Brian Albonetti and Dirk Niewenhuis made a traffic stop at Central and Glasgow avenues to which driver Dennis Fulton, 32, promptly pulled over. However, he initially gave officers a fake name and date of birth. Fulton's true identity was revealed by his jail wrist band he left on the floor of the car.
A search of the car produced a small black pouch containing six baggies of methamphetamine, scales, empty baggies and hypodermic syringes. Officers also seized two watches, Playstation 2 equipment, a computer router, DVD players, pellet rifles, a cell phone and wig, all believed to be stolen property.
Fulton was booked on charges of possession of stolen property, possession of meth for sale and auto theft.
FRONT DOORS KICKED IN: CERES - Three homes were victimized in daytime burglaries where thieves entered by kicking in the front doors on Thursday.
Homes in the 1500 block of Hackett Road, 1600 block of Fiddle Leaf and the 3600 block of Brown Avenue were all ransacked for valuables.
BURGLARY CHARGES LEVELE: CERES - Randy Roy, 33, has been arrested for allegedly burglarizing an Indian grocery store at 3230 Mitchell Rd., Suite C, on Aug. 13.
Officer Pat Dayton reviewed surveillance video and determined that the burglar was Roy, whom police spotted the next day. Roy was arrested for possession of burglary tools.
On Thursday, Dayton took broken jewelry stolen in the burglary to store owner Amrick Singh who identified the items as his.
Roy faces new charges of commercial burglary and possession of stolen property.
The Ceres Police Street Crimes Unit, investigators and SWAT Team simultaneously served two search warrants at two separate houses. At approximately 7:45 a.m., a search warrant was served at a home in the 900 block of Azores Lane in Ceres. Investigators received a tip about marijuana plants growing above the fence line and visible from the street. Police located a marijuana grow capable of producing over 75 pounds of finished product with a street value estimated at over $200,000. The case is under investigation and no arrests have been made at this time.
An arrest did come at the second search warrant served at a residence in the 1600 block of Atlantic Drive in south Modesto where police seized a half-pound of methamphetamine and evidence of drug sales. Alma Cervantes, 48, of Modesto, was arrested for possession for sale of narcotics.
Police focused their attention to the Cervantes residence due to reports of suspicious activity, such as a high volume of traffic at the residence.
Ceres Police are asking anyone with further information on these cases to contact Stanislaus Area Crime Stoppers at 1-866-60-CRIME or Ceres Police Street Crimes Unit Sgt. Dennis Perry at 538-5638.
• PATROL CARS STRUCK DURING PURSUIT: MODESTO - A police pursuit of a stolen vehicle on Sunday evening resulted in three Ceres patrol cars being damaged and one suspect facing arrest.
The pursuit began at 11:23 p.m. at Hatch Road and Herndon Avenue when Officer Josh Kling spotted a stolen vehicle occupied by two men. When the officer tried to stop the 1999 Honda Accord stolen out of Turlock, the driver accelerated eastbound on Hatch Road where Leon drove in the westbound lanes and turned north on Mitchell Road reaching speeds of 90 mph. The chase wound up in the Modesto Airport District.
The driver, later identified as Danny Jesse Leon, 33, of Modesto, lost control at Tenaya and Santa Cruz where he rammed three patrol vehicles as officers tried to block him in. Two vehicles were disabled with the third remaining in the pursuit.
Leon continued to flee, at one point trying to run Ceres officers off the road.
At Tenaya and Empire, Leon lost control and hit a chain-link fence and two mailboxes and hit one of the three Ceres patrol cars again. After traveling for another block, Leon lost control again and after being blocked fled the vehicle with the passenger going elsewhere. The passenger was not located despite a police perimeter being set up and a canine search of the area.
As Leon was running, he was struck and knocked to the ground by an arriving Modesto patrol unit. Ceres officers Kling and Brian Ferriera wrestled with Leon on the ground and arrested him. Leon was taken to Doctors Medical Center where he was medically cleared to be booked on charges of felony evasion, assault on peace officers with a deadly weapon, possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of stolen property, and resisting arrest.
Ceres Police Lt. Brent Smith said Leon was in prison for auto theft but recently released as part of the early release program designed by state lawmakers.
One Ceres officer sustained minor injuries but did not require medical attention.
• MARKET WINDOW SMASHED: CERES - Laos Oriental Market, 2600 Mitchell Road, was the victim of a window smash burglary committed at 2:13 a.m. over the weekend.
The business lost its cash register.
• PEDESTRIAN HIT: CERES - A 50-year-old Modesto man who was crossing Herndon Avenue outside the crosswalk was hit and injured by a car on Thursday.
Jerry Souza was crossing Herndon near Hatch Road at 9 a.m. when he was hit by a northbound 2004 Nissan Frontier. He was taken by ambulance to Doctors Medical Center for treatment of pain. Police said Souza caused the accident by not using a crosswalk nor yielding to the vehicle.
• WOMAN ARRESTED AFTER PUBLIC STRIPPING: CERES - A 31-year-old female was subdued after she began stripping her clothes off in the road near the 7-Eleven in the 1300 block of Herndon Avenue.
Police were called at 12:34 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 22, after the woman was seen lying in the road with her pants halfway off. Officer Coey Henson was the first to arrive and saw the woman - whose identity was not revealed - in the process of removing her clothes. By the time the second unit arrived she had removed pants and sat on hood of Henson's patrol car. Henson ordered her off, to which she took off her panties and the rest of her clothes. Henson grabbed the woman by the wrist but she struggled to get free. She was handcuffed and placed in the back of Henson's patrol car where she banged her head into the metal cage and attempted to eat her socks.
AMR ambulance paramedics arrived and strapped her to a gurney for transportation to Doctors Medical Center. She was committed for observation since she was unable to care for herself.
• MAN HITS GIRLFRIEND, STABS HIMSELF: CERES - Michael Walker, 36, of Ceres, was arrested Monday, Aug. 20, after allegedly striking his girlfriend during an argument and then stabbing himself in the leg with a steak knife.
Police were called to Walker's house in the 1900 block of Glen Ridge Drive at 3:26 a.m. for the domestic disturbance. Walker was reportedly upset about their future plans and that's when he struck the woman multiple times, police said. He stabbed himself before leaving on foot.
Walker was spotted by Officer Ross Bays walking down Mitchell Road. He was arrested on felony domestic violence charges but first treated at Doctors Medical Center.
A judge issued an emergency protective order for the female victim.
• STOLEN CAR STOPPED: CERES - Officers pulled over a stolen vehicle on Friday whose trunk yielded drugs as well as stolen items.
Officers Brian Albonetti and Dirk Niewenhuis made a traffic stop at Central and Glasgow avenues to which driver Dennis Fulton, 32, promptly pulled over. However, he initially gave officers a fake name and date of birth. Fulton's true identity was revealed by his jail wrist band he left on the floor of the car.
A search of the car produced a small black pouch containing six baggies of methamphetamine, scales, empty baggies and hypodermic syringes. Officers also seized two watches, Playstation 2 equipment, a computer router, DVD players, pellet rifles, a cell phone and wig, all believed to be stolen property.
Fulton was booked on charges of possession of stolen property, possession of meth for sale and auto theft.
FRONT DOORS KICKED IN: CERES - Three homes were victimized in daytime burglaries where thieves entered by kicking in the front doors on Thursday.
Homes in the 1500 block of Hackett Road, 1600 block of Fiddle Leaf and the 3600 block of Brown Avenue were all ransacked for valuables.
BURGLARY CHARGES LEVELE: CERES - Randy Roy, 33, has been arrested for allegedly burglarizing an Indian grocery store at 3230 Mitchell Rd., Suite C, on Aug. 13.
Officer Pat Dayton reviewed surveillance video and determined that the burglar was Roy, whom police spotted the next day. Roy was arrested for possession of burglary tools.
On Thursday, Dayton took broken jewelry stolen in the burglary to store owner Amrick Singh who identified the items as his.
Roy faces new charges of commercial burglary and possession of stolen property.
