• GUN FOUND UNDER HOOD: CERES - A Monday, July 2 auto accident led police to the discovery of a stolen gun stored beneath the hood of a car.
An injury crash occurred at 1:18 p.m. near the Rite Aid in the 1800 block of Mitchell Road and as firefighters went to disconnect the battery, they spotted a handgun sitting atop the battery.
Driver Adolfo Romeo, 48, of Modesto, acknowledged the gun - stolen from Redmond, Ore., in 2005 - was his and that he often stored it under the hood to prevent its detection by thieves.
Romeo was arrested and charged with possession of a loaded handgun, and possession of stolen property.
• HEROIN ARREST MADE: CERES - A transient was arrested Tuesday, July 3 after an officer saw him crawling away to try to dispose of narcotics in a parking lot.
Officer James Riley spotted Michael Owens, 46, who was on probation for drugs. Riley pulled into a parking lot at 11:44 a.m. and saw Owens who then tried to crawl away and dispose of his drugs.
"It was pretty overt," commented Deputy Police Mike Borges.
Owens was booked on charges of possession of heroin, possession of narcotics for sale and probation violation.
•GANG MEMBERS FOUND WITH STOLEN GOOD: CERES - Two males with ties to the Norteno gang were arrested after a short police pursuit ending in Independence Park on Tuesday, July 3.
An officer attempted to stop a vehicle at Belmont and Grandview avenues but the driver accelerated off and a pursuit went down Richland Avenue at 2:41 p.m. The driver drove through Independence Park, making park users scatter to avoid being run over. As the car slowed at the end of the park the driver and passenger bailed on foot.
As the driver got out, he fumbled and dropped an item that proved to be a Glock .357 caliber handgun wrapped in a cloth.
Both suspects, familiar to Ceres Police as Norteno gang members, were arrested. They were a 15-year-old Hughson boy and Refugio Deleon, 22, of Modesto.
Police found inside the car a pillowcase filled with stolen property, including a bowling champion ring stolen from a residential robbery in Tracy recently abandoned by elderly couple. The gun was stolen out of a car in Bakersfield in 2009.
Deleon was booked on charges of possession of a loaded firearm, possession of stolen property, evading arrest and resisting arrest.
The teen was booked into Juvenile Hall on charges of possession of stolen property and evading arrest.
• THEFT SUSPECT FOUND WITH DRUGS: CERES - Orlando Flores, 46, of Modesto, was arrested July 3 after allegedly stealing an item worth $5.32 at Cost Less Foods on Hatch Road and found with a plastic baggie containing cocaine.
Flores was stopped by store security at 8:24 p.m. Police arrested him on charges of petty theft and possession of a controlled substance. Flores told officers that he found the drugs.
• TEEN ALLEGEDLY HITS PREGNANT SISTER: CERES - A 19-year-old Ceres man faces felony battery charges after allegedly striking his pregnant sister in the face during a July 3 family fight.
Police received a call at 9:57 p.m. saying there was a family disturbance in the 700 block of Musick Avenue. The pregnant woman was hurt and required a visit to the hospital but didn't want anything done toward her brother, Able Castrillo, 19, of Ceres.
Thirty minutes later, police received a call to have officers perform a security check on her children as she was at the hospital. Police found Castrillo hiding in a bedroom and then scuffled with officers who went to arrest him. Castrillo, who appeared to be intoxicated, was arrested him for felony battery and resisting arrest.
• COINS MAY HAVE BEEN STOLEN: CERES - Police believe that old coins found on a suspicious man on July 4 may have been stolen in a residential burglary but no victims have reported such a theft.
Police dispatchers received a 10:52 p.m. call about a suspicious man running across the street carrying a duffle bag in the area of Whitmore Avenue and Lunar Drive. Police searched the 2400 block of Lunar and found no evidence of a burglary but did locate the man who was in possession of the coins. Police kept the coins believing them to be stolen and awaiting someone who may have owned them other than the suspect.
"Hopefully we'll find a victim," said Deputy Police Chief Mike Borges.
• DRUG ARREST MADE: CERES - A Modesto woman was arrested for drug possession after police were called Thursday to see about the man she was with who was offering to sell booze to patients of the Ceres Urgent Care at 1930 Hatch Road.
The clinic called police at 11 a.m. to check out the man who had been drinking but was not legally intoxicated.
However, officers searched his companion, Cheryl Dias, 50, of Modesto, who had a small amount of methamphetamine and a smoking pipe.
• SMALL FIRE AT SCHOOL: CERES - Playground equipment at Carroll Fowler Elementary School was damaged by a fire that occurred late Thursday but police are unsure if fireworks were to blame or if the fire was intentionally set.
An officer put out the 8:49 p.m. fire with an extinguisher.
• STRANGE ACTING MAN ARRESTED: CERES - Six police officers and a police canine were required to subdue a large man who refused to leave the Starbucks on Herndon Road after he made customers feel uncomfortable for hours on Thursday.
The 10:40 p.m. incident left Officer Joe Wren injured and on medical leave.
Deputy Police Chief Mike Borges said that Daniel Wendall, 29, of Modesto, had arrived at Starbucks at around 3 p.m. and drank only water as he stared at other customers, talked weird, "passed gas," and "made people feel uncomfortable." Store personnel had asked Wendall to leave about a half dozen times but he refused.
When officers arrived to get him to leave, a fight was on. Officers used Tasers and baton strikes - breaking one of them - and a police canine to get the 6-foot-3, 350-pound man under control. He was finally handcuffed and arrested on charges of trespassing and resisting arrest.
Borges said that Wendall may be bipolar and that he stopped taking medications to control his mental disorder two weeks ago. He later told police that he did not remember the police canine biting him.
Earlier at 2:30 p.m. three officers were able to reason with Wendall who initially refused to leave In Shape City after challenging customers there. At that time, Wendall refused to take a trip to the Mental Health Department for evaluation but did leave the business.
• ALLEY ARREST FOR DRUGS: CERES - Charles Powell, 26, of Modesto, was arrested on drug charges after he tried to flee from and was tackled by Ceres Police Officer Lorenzo Beltran on Friday morning.
At 11 a.m. Powell was located in the alley behind the 1200 block of Sam Avenue. The officer wanted to search Powell, who is on probation and had a backpack. Powell began running but was tackled. A search of the backpack produced methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. He was booked on possession charges.
• WEAPON BRANDISHED: CERES - Police are looking for two Latino men who reportedly brandished a handgun to a person walking in front of Ceres High School on Friday afternoon.
The incident occurred at 1 p.m. The suspects were in a maroon colored 1990s model pickup with an equipment rack.
Police believe that the suspects are linked to the case of a missing juvenile from Modesto.
• PARK SHOOTING: CERES - Shots were fired in Independence Park Saturday in a reported gang fight and at least one nearby apartment unit at 1625 Richland Avenue was struck by stray bullets.
No one was hurt in the 7:46 p.m. shooting.
Witnesses said two groups in the park had an altercation and that someone pulled out a gun and began firing. Descriptions of the group were vague but Hispanic males wearing white T-shirts and black pants were seen running from the area.
• WEAPON SEIZED IN CAR STOP: CERES - A loaded firearm, drugs and drug smoking devices were seized by police during a Saturday evening car stop which netted the arrests of two persons on various charges.
An officer made a 11:53 p.m. stop on a car in the area of Central Avenue and Calcagno Street. A search of the car turned up a loaded Smith & Wesson .357 caliber handgun stored in the glove box and bag of marijuana.
Driver Jason Whatley, 29, of Citrus Heights, was arrested for possession of a loaded firearm, driving on a suspended drivers license and possession of a smoking device.
Jessica Wilson, 29, of Tracy, was arrested for possession of a loaded firearm, an ex felon in possession of a firearm, possession of marijuana and probation violation.
• TERRORIST THREATS MADE: CERES - Valentin Perez, 20, of Modesto, was arrested Sunday morning after allegedly driving recklessly, breaking down and threatening witnesses that he would come back and get them if they reported him to police.
At 10:58 a.m. police were called about a vehicle being driven recklessly in the area of Musick and Pecos avenues. As patrol units arrived, officers found a broken-down vehicle. Officers found Perez - who allegedly made his threats in the area of Lindstrom Avenue - in the 900 block of Mock Avenue.
He faces charges of making terrorist threats and driving on a suspended license.
• OFFICER ASSAULTED AFTER PURSUIT: CERES - Two men were arrested after police were led on a Sunday evening one-minute, three-mile car chase that ended at the South Ninth Street exit of northbound Highway 99.
Officer Freddie Ortiz saw a vehicle run a red light on the Whitmore Avenue overpass at 8:29 p.m. When Ortiz tried to stop the driver, the suspect's car accelerated onto northbound Highway 99 reaching speeds of 100 mph. The driver finally pulled over three exits later.
During the traffic stop, driver Benjamin Garcia, 23, of Riverbank, started to answer a cell phone call and when the officer went to grab for it, was kicked in the knee by the suspect.
Garcia was arrested and booked for felony evasion of an officer, battery on a peace officer, drunk driving and driving on a suspended license.
Passenger Francisco Alvarez, 24, of Modesto, was found with cocaine in his pocket and booked on the charge of possession of a controlled substance.
• METH USER ARRESTED: CERES - A bizarre report of vandalism led police to the arrest a man who was under the influence of drugs early Monday morning.
A Semini Circle resident reported at 12:11 a.m. on July 9 that someone threw motor oil into his pool which is in a yard that backs up to the TID Main Canal running along Hatch Road. A search of the area by Sgt. Trent Johnson turned up a transient in the area of Hatch Road and Wallen Way. Sgt. Johnson confronted Mark Reeves, 24, on the canal bank. Reeves began yelling at the officer and ran toward him as he reached into his waistband. Johnson ordered Reeves to stop, to which he complied, but the man started fighting. By then, backup units arrived to help arrest Reeves.
Reeves admitted to police that he was using methamphetamine. He was arrested on charges of resisting arrest and being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Officers did not believe that Reeves was responsible for throw the oil into the pool.
An injury crash occurred at 1:18 p.m. near the Rite Aid in the 1800 block of Mitchell Road and as firefighters went to disconnect the battery, they spotted a handgun sitting atop the battery.
Driver Adolfo Romeo, 48, of Modesto, acknowledged the gun - stolen from Redmond, Ore., in 2005 - was his and that he often stored it under the hood to prevent its detection by thieves.
Romeo was arrested and charged with possession of a loaded handgun, and possession of stolen property.
• HEROIN ARREST MADE: CERES - A transient was arrested Tuesday, July 3 after an officer saw him crawling away to try to dispose of narcotics in a parking lot.
Officer James Riley spotted Michael Owens, 46, who was on probation for drugs. Riley pulled into a parking lot at 11:44 a.m. and saw Owens who then tried to crawl away and dispose of his drugs.
"It was pretty overt," commented Deputy Police Mike Borges.
Owens was booked on charges of possession of heroin, possession of narcotics for sale and probation violation.
•GANG MEMBERS FOUND WITH STOLEN GOOD: CERES - Two males with ties to the Norteno gang were arrested after a short police pursuit ending in Independence Park on Tuesday, July 3.
An officer attempted to stop a vehicle at Belmont and Grandview avenues but the driver accelerated off and a pursuit went down Richland Avenue at 2:41 p.m. The driver drove through Independence Park, making park users scatter to avoid being run over. As the car slowed at the end of the park the driver and passenger bailed on foot.
As the driver got out, he fumbled and dropped an item that proved to be a Glock .357 caliber handgun wrapped in a cloth.
Both suspects, familiar to Ceres Police as Norteno gang members, were arrested. They were a 15-year-old Hughson boy and Refugio Deleon, 22, of Modesto.
Police found inside the car a pillowcase filled with stolen property, including a bowling champion ring stolen from a residential robbery in Tracy recently abandoned by elderly couple. The gun was stolen out of a car in Bakersfield in 2009.
Deleon was booked on charges of possession of a loaded firearm, possession of stolen property, evading arrest and resisting arrest.
The teen was booked into Juvenile Hall on charges of possession of stolen property and evading arrest.
• THEFT SUSPECT FOUND WITH DRUGS: CERES - Orlando Flores, 46, of Modesto, was arrested July 3 after allegedly stealing an item worth $5.32 at Cost Less Foods on Hatch Road and found with a plastic baggie containing cocaine.
Flores was stopped by store security at 8:24 p.m. Police arrested him on charges of petty theft and possession of a controlled substance. Flores told officers that he found the drugs.
• TEEN ALLEGEDLY HITS PREGNANT SISTER: CERES - A 19-year-old Ceres man faces felony battery charges after allegedly striking his pregnant sister in the face during a July 3 family fight.
Police received a call at 9:57 p.m. saying there was a family disturbance in the 700 block of Musick Avenue. The pregnant woman was hurt and required a visit to the hospital but didn't want anything done toward her brother, Able Castrillo, 19, of Ceres.
Thirty minutes later, police received a call to have officers perform a security check on her children as she was at the hospital. Police found Castrillo hiding in a bedroom and then scuffled with officers who went to arrest him. Castrillo, who appeared to be intoxicated, was arrested him for felony battery and resisting arrest.
• COINS MAY HAVE BEEN STOLEN: CERES - Police believe that old coins found on a suspicious man on July 4 may have been stolen in a residential burglary but no victims have reported such a theft.
Police dispatchers received a 10:52 p.m. call about a suspicious man running across the street carrying a duffle bag in the area of Whitmore Avenue and Lunar Drive. Police searched the 2400 block of Lunar and found no evidence of a burglary but did locate the man who was in possession of the coins. Police kept the coins believing them to be stolen and awaiting someone who may have owned them other than the suspect.
"Hopefully we'll find a victim," said Deputy Police Chief Mike Borges.
• DRUG ARREST MADE: CERES - A Modesto woman was arrested for drug possession after police were called Thursday to see about the man she was with who was offering to sell booze to patients of the Ceres Urgent Care at 1930 Hatch Road.
The clinic called police at 11 a.m. to check out the man who had been drinking but was not legally intoxicated.
However, officers searched his companion, Cheryl Dias, 50, of Modesto, who had a small amount of methamphetamine and a smoking pipe.
• SMALL FIRE AT SCHOOL: CERES - Playground equipment at Carroll Fowler Elementary School was damaged by a fire that occurred late Thursday but police are unsure if fireworks were to blame or if the fire was intentionally set.
An officer put out the 8:49 p.m. fire with an extinguisher.
• STRANGE ACTING MAN ARRESTED: CERES - Six police officers and a police canine were required to subdue a large man who refused to leave the Starbucks on Herndon Road after he made customers feel uncomfortable for hours on Thursday.
The 10:40 p.m. incident left Officer Joe Wren injured and on medical leave.
Deputy Police Chief Mike Borges said that Daniel Wendall, 29, of Modesto, had arrived at Starbucks at around 3 p.m. and drank only water as he stared at other customers, talked weird, "passed gas," and "made people feel uncomfortable." Store personnel had asked Wendall to leave about a half dozen times but he refused.
When officers arrived to get him to leave, a fight was on. Officers used Tasers and baton strikes - breaking one of them - and a police canine to get the 6-foot-3, 350-pound man under control. He was finally handcuffed and arrested on charges of trespassing and resisting arrest.
Borges said that Wendall may be bipolar and that he stopped taking medications to control his mental disorder two weeks ago. He later told police that he did not remember the police canine biting him.
Earlier at 2:30 p.m. three officers were able to reason with Wendall who initially refused to leave In Shape City after challenging customers there. At that time, Wendall refused to take a trip to the Mental Health Department for evaluation but did leave the business.
• ALLEY ARREST FOR DRUGS: CERES - Charles Powell, 26, of Modesto, was arrested on drug charges after he tried to flee from and was tackled by Ceres Police Officer Lorenzo Beltran on Friday morning.
At 11 a.m. Powell was located in the alley behind the 1200 block of Sam Avenue. The officer wanted to search Powell, who is on probation and had a backpack. Powell began running but was tackled. A search of the backpack produced methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. He was booked on possession charges.
• WEAPON BRANDISHED: CERES - Police are looking for two Latino men who reportedly brandished a handgun to a person walking in front of Ceres High School on Friday afternoon.
The incident occurred at 1 p.m. The suspects were in a maroon colored 1990s model pickup with an equipment rack.
Police believe that the suspects are linked to the case of a missing juvenile from Modesto.
• PARK SHOOTING: CERES - Shots were fired in Independence Park Saturday in a reported gang fight and at least one nearby apartment unit at 1625 Richland Avenue was struck by stray bullets.
No one was hurt in the 7:46 p.m. shooting.
Witnesses said two groups in the park had an altercation and that someone pulled out a gun and began firing. Descriptions of the group were vague but Hispanic males wearing white T-shirts and black pants were seen running from the area.
• WEAPON SEIZED IN CAR STOP: CERES - A loaded firearm, drugs and drug smoking devices were seized by police during a Saturday evening car stop which netted the arrests of two persons on various charges.
An officer made a 11:53 p.m. stop on a car in the area of Central Avenue and Calcagno Street. A search of the car turned up a loaded Smith & Wesson .357 caliber handgun stored in the glove box and bag of marijuana.
Driver Jason Whatley, 29, of Citrus Heights, was arrested for possession of a loaded firearm, driving on a suspended drivers license and possession of a smoking device.
Jessica Wilson, 29, of Tracy, was arrested for possession of a loaded firearm, an ex felon in possession of a firearm, possession of marijuana and probation violation.
• TERRORIST THREATS MADE: CERES - Valentin Perez, 20, of Modesto, was arrested Sunday morning after allegedly driving recklessly, breaking down and threatening witnesses that he would come back and get them if they reported him to police.
At 10:58 a.m. police were called about a vehicle being driven recklessly in the area of Musick and Pecos avenues. As patrol units arrived, officers found a broken-down vehicle. Officers found Perez - who allegedly made his threats in the area of Lindstrom Avenue - in the 900 block of Mock Avenue.
He faces charges of making terrorist threats and driving on a suspended license.
• OFFICER ASSAULTED AFTER PURSUIT: CERES - Two men were arrested after police were led on a Sunday evening one-minute, three-mile car chase that ended at the South Ninth Street exit of northbound Highway 99.
Officer Freddie Ortiz saw a vehicle run a red light on the Whitmore Avenue overpass at 8:29 p.m. When Ortiz tried to stop the driver, the suspect's car accelerated onto northbound Highway 99 reaching speeds of 100 mph. The driver finally pulled over three exits later.
During the traffic stop, driver Benjamin Garcia, 23, of Riverbank, started to answer a cell phone call and when the officer went to grab for it, was kicked in the knee by the suspect.
Garcia was arrested and booked for felony evasion of an officer, battery on a peace officer, drunk driving and driving on a suspended license.
Passenger Francisco Alvarez, 24, of Modesto, was found with cocaine in his pocket and booked on the charge of possession of a controlled substance.
• METH USER ARRESTED: CERES - A bizarre report of vandalism led police to the arrest a man who was under the influence of drugs early Monday morning.
A Semini Circle resident reported at 12:11 a.m. on July 9 that someone threw motor oil into his pool which is in a yard that backs up to the TID Main Canal running along Hatch Road. A search of the area by Sgt. Trent Johnson turned up a transient in the area of Hatch Road and Wallen Way. Sgt. Johnson confronted Mark Reeves, 24, on the canal bank. Reeves began yelling at the officer and ran toward him as he reached into his waistband. Johnson ordered Reeves to stop, to which he complied, but the man started fighting. By then, backup units arrived to help arrest Reeves.
Reeves admitted to police that he was using methamphetamine. He was arrested on charges of resisting arrest and being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Officers did not believe that Reeves was responsible for throw the oil into the pool.
