• DUI SUSPECT RESISTS ARRESTS, SUSTAINS BROKEN NOSE: CERES - When Officer Keith Kitscher made a Sunday traffic stop on a suspected drunken driver, he wasn't expecting the resistance he got. The incident involved a lengthy physical fight with the suspect who ended up getting a broken nose in the process.
The incident occurred at 11 p.m. Sunday when Kitscher made a stop on a southbound Highway 99 motorist at Mitchell Road. The officer took the driver, Rashpal Singh, 50, of Modesto, out of the car but the suspect attempted to elbow the officer in the face. Kitscher took Singh to the ground, and called for backup. Officers Julio Amador and Greg Yotsuya responded as Singh continued fighting. Officer Yotsuya sustained a hand injury trying to get Singh's hands out from underneath him while he was on the ground.
Singh was taken by ambulance to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto for treatment of a broken nose.
Singh registered a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.20, earning him a charge of DUI, a felony since he had three DUI convictions since 2005. Singh was also charged with felony resisting or delaying of an officer, and violation of his probation.
• DRIVER ARRESTED 19 HOURS AFTER CHASE: CERES - A 33-year-old Modesto woman was arrested Monday evening 19 hours after police terminated a police pursuit of her while driving in Ceres.
The incident started at 3:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 17 when the driver of a taco truck called police to report he was being followed in the 1200 block of San Pedro Avenue and suspected he was being targeted for a robbery. The caller said four or five occupants were riding in a silver Pontiac sedan following him. Officers searched the area and spotted the Pontiac in the 1200 block of Vito Avenue. When the female driver sped off and failed to yield the officer, the pursuit was on.
The chase went onto westbound San Pedro, then onto Brown, Hackett and Malik until hitting eastbound Whitmore Avenue and northbound Morgan Road. A sergeant called off the chase because the roads were slick from rain. However, Officer Freddie Ortiz got a good look at the woman who was driving and with the license plate number, identified her as the registered owner, Christina Balagot, 33, of Modesto.
Officer Julio Amador showed up at Balagot's house in the 1800 block of Pearl Street in Modesto at 10:30 p.m. Monday and arrested her on charges of evading a police officer. Police are unsure of the motive but say the car was filled with persons with gang affiliations.
• AUTO THEFT SUSPECT ARRESTED: CERES - Armando Cedeno, 23, was arrested on charges of auto theft on Monday, Dec. 10 after officers from the Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force spotted him in a stolen 1996 Honda Accord parked on Laramuseau Lane in Ceres.
The StanCATT officer called for Ceres police to assist in making an arrest at 4 p.m. Officer Coey Henson and his canine arrived on scene and the suspect ran from the car into a garage of a nearby home. Police surrounded the house and called the occupants out at gunpoint. The last person to exit the house was Cedeno, who was arrested and charged with auto theft and possession of stolen property.
Lt. Brent Smith said the other men in the house claimed that Cedeno was innocent and that the true suspect jumped the back yard fence.
• GIRLS CAUGHT ON JOY RIDE IN STOLEN CAR: CERES - Three teenage Ceres girls were arrested early Thursday, Dec. 13 after police caught them on a joy ride in a stolen car.
Officer Michael Vierra followed a 1994 Nissan Maxima occupied by three girls at 12:45 a.m. from the 2900 block of Della Street. The driver was stopped on Highway 99 and Crows Landing Road. The officer noticed that a screwdriver was used as a starting mechanism. The 17-year-old driver admitted that she helped steal the car from the parking lot of a Della Street apartment complex. All three admitted being involved in the car theft and were cited into Juvenile Hall on felonies of possession of stolen property, and conspiracy to commit a crime.
• JUVENILES ARRESTED IN BURGLARY: CERES - Two Ceres boys, aged 15 and 16, were booked into Juvenile Hall after they were caught ransacking a home in the 3400 block of Uranus Drive on Tuesday, Dec. 11.
The female resident living at the home said she came home at 7:15 p.m. and noticed that lights were on inside the home that she didn't leave on. She walked in and noticed things were out of place. As she approached the sliding glass door in the back of the house she encountered a Hispanic teenage boy who immediately ran off.
Police set up a perimeter around the area and a while later Officer Pat Dayton located two teens hiding in the bushes and behind a concrete planter at the north end of Saturn Court. The boys were arrested, admitted to the burglary and were booked into Juvenile Hall on charges residential burglary and conspiracy.
• GIRL SAYS MAN EXPOSED HIMSELF: CERES - An 8-year-old Ceres girl reported that a man in his 20s exposed his privates to her during an afternoon encounter on Sunday, Dec. 16 in the 3000 block of Tenth Street.
Police did not locate a suspect after the crime was reported at 2:18 p.m. The girl said the man lifted his shirt and pulled down his pants to expose himself. The girl described him as a white man in his 20's, wearing long blond hair, a scraggly beard, black or dark jeans, a black sweatshirt that covered a red and green striped shirt and a baseball cap. The suspect was approximately six feet tall and of medium build and carrying a skateboard.
The incident appears to be isolated since no other reports have been lodged.
• BROTHERS ARRESTED IN AUTO THEFT: CERES - Two Modesto brothers were among three suspects arrested for auto theft early Monday, Dec. 17 at Vito Avenue and Herndon Road.
At 12:30 a.m. officers with Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force (StanCATT) asked for assistance from Ceres police with an occupied stolen 1996 Accura in the area of Sam and Leo avenues. Police arrived and noticed three men running from the car. StanCATT Detective Jason Brock fired two .12 gauge bean bag rounds at one suspect, striking him in the hip and leg. The suspect surrendered.
Another suspect was located in a yard at 1220 Vito Avenue.
One suspect put up a fight when Officer James Riley came in for an arrest. The suspect was taken in with minor abrasions.
Brothers David High, 22, and Dillon High, 19, both of Modesto, were arrested on charges of auto theft. The name of the third suspect was not available.
The incident occurred at 11 p.m. Sunday when Kitscher made a stop on a southbound Highway 99 motorist at Mitchell Road. The officer took the driver, Rashpal Singh, 50, of Modesto, out of the car but the suspect attempted to elbow the officer in the face. Kitscher took Singh to the ground, and called for backup. Officers Julio Amador and Greg Yotsuya responded as Singh continued fighting. Officer Yotsuya sustained a hand injury trying to get Singh's hands out from underneath him while he was on the ground.
Singh was taken by ambulance to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto for treatment of a broken nose.
Singh registered a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.20, earning him a charge of DUI, a felony since he had three DUI convictions since 2005. Singh was also charged with felony resisting or delaying of an officer, and violation of his probation.
• DRIVER ARRESTED 19 HOURS AFTER CHASE: CERES - A 33-year-old Modesto woman was arrested Monday evening 19 hours after police terminated a police pursuit of her while driving in Ceres.
The incident started at 3:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 17 when the driver of a taco truck called police to report he was being followed in the 1200 block of San Pedro Avenue and suspected he was being targeted for a robbery. The caller said four or five occupants were riding in a silver Pontiac sedan following him. Officers searched the area and spotted the Pontiac in the 1200 block of Vito Avenue. When the female driver sped off and failed to yield the officer, the pursuit was on.
The chase went onto westbound San Pedro, then onto Brown, Hackett and Malik until hitting eastbound Whitmore Avenue and northbound Morgan Road. A sergeant called off the chase because the roads were slick from rain. However, Officer Freddie Ortiz got a good look at the woman who was driving and with the license plate number, identified her as the registered owner, Christina Balagot, 33, of Modesto.
Officer Julio Amador showed up at Balagot's house in the 1800 block of Pearl Street in Modesto at 10:30 p.m. Monday and arrested her on charges of evading a police officer. Police are unsure of the motive but say the car was filled with persons with gang affiliations.
• AUTO THEFT SUSPECT ARRESTED: CERES - Armando Cedeno, 23, was arrested on charges of auto theft on Monday, Dec. 10 after officers from the Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force spotted him in a stolen 1996 Honda Accord parked on Laramuseau Lane in Ceres.
The StanCATT officer called for Ceres police to assist in making an arrest at 4 p.m. Officer Coey Henson and his canine arrived on scene and the suspect ran from the car into a garage of a nearby home. Police surrounded the house and called the occupants out at gunpoint. The last person to exit the house was Cedeno, who was arrested and charged with auto theft and possession of stolen property.
Lt. Brent Smith said the other men in the house claimed that Cedeno was innocent and that the true suspect jumped the back yard fence.
• GIRLS CAUGHT ON JOY RIDE IN STOLEN CAR: CERES - Three teenage Ceres girls were arrested early Thursday, Dec. 13 after police caught them on a joy ride in a stolen car.
Officer Michael Vierra followed a 1994 Nissan Maxima occupied by three girls at 12:45 a.m. from the 2900 block of Della Street. The driver was stopped on Highway 99 and Crows Landing Road. The officer noticed that a screwdriver was used as a starting mechanism. The 17-year-old driver admitted that she helped steal the car from the parking lot of a Della Street apartment complex. All three admitted being involved in the car theft and were cited into Juvenile Hall on felonies of possession of stolen property, and conspiracy to commit a crime.
• JUVENILES ARRESTED IN BURGLARY: CERES - Two Ceres boys, aged 15 and 16, were booked into Juvenile Hall after they were caught ransacking a home in the 3400 block of Uranus Drive on Tuesday, Dec. 11.
The female resident living at the home said she came home at 7:15 p.m. and noticed that lights were on inside the home that she didn't leave on. She walked in and noticed things were out of place. As she approached the sliding glass door in the back of the house she encountered a Hispanic teenage boy who immediately ran off.
Police set up a perimeter around the area and a while later Officer Pat Dayton located two teens hiding in the bushes and behind a concrete planter at the north end of Saturn Court. The boys were arrested, admitted to the burglary and were booked into Juvenile Hall on charges residential burglary and conspiracy.
• GIRL SAYS MAN EXPOSED HIMSELF: CERES - An 8-year-old Ceres girl reported that a man in his 20s exposed his privates to her during an afternoon encounter on Sunday, Dec. 16 in the 3000 block of Tenth Street.
Police did not locate a suspect after the crime was reported at 2:18 p.m. The girl said the man lifted his shirt and pulled down his pants to expose himself. The girl described him as a white man in his 20's, wearing long blond hair, a scraggly beard, black or dark jeans, a black sweatshirt that covered a red and green striped shirt and a baseball cap. The suspect was approximately six feet tall and of medium build and carrying a skateboard.
The incident appears to be isolated since no other reports have been lodged.
• BROTHERS ARRESTED IN AUTO THEFT: CERES - Two Modesto brothers were among three suspects arrested for auto theft early Monday, Dec. 17 at Vito Avenue and Herndon Road.
At 12:30 a.m. officers with Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force (StanCATT) asked for assistance from Ceres police with an occupied stolen 1996 Accura in the area of Sam and Leo avenues. Police arrived and noticed three men running from the car. StanCATT Detective Jason Brock fired two .12 gauge bean bag rounds at one suspect, striking him in the hip and leg. The suspect surrendered.
Another suspect was located in a yard at 1220 Vito Avenue.
One suspect put up a fight when Officer James Riley came in for an arrest. The suspect was taken in with minor abrasions.
Brothers David High, 22, and Dillon High, 19, both of Modesto, were arrested on charges of auto theft. The name of the third suspect was not available.
