The Ceres Police Department served search warrants at nine different locations between Friday and Monday for the cultivation of marijuana. Due to the efforts of the Ceres Street Crimes Unit, Ceres SWAT, and Stanislaus County Probation approximately 1,200 marijuana plants were eradicated totaling in weight of approximately 6,000 pounds. Seven arrests were made and two firearms were seized.
David Schemel, 60, Mariano Castillo, 57, and Jose Peregrino-Espinoza, 23, were all arrested for cultivation of marijuana.
Danny Morrison, 56, was arrested for unrelated drug and gun charges.
Tony Shinpaugh, 47, and Pamela Pilcher, 47, were also arrested for unrelated drug charges.
Antoinio Cisneros, 19, was arrested for delaying or obstructing law enforcement.
These other noteworthy crimes occurred in Ceres:
• WALMART SHOPLIFTER CAPTURED: CERES - A 33-year-old Modesto man was arrested Tuesday, Aug. 6 after he allegedly stolen goods from Walmart and escaped into a residential area.
The suspect, James Pyatt, had been detected as stealing inside the store at 515 p.m. when he was chased down by a loss prevention officer. Pyatt fled into the residential area east of the store and was seen scaling a fence into a back yard.
Police checked out the area and found Pyatt hiding underneath a wooden pallet in the back yard at 3209 Matterhorn Way. Pyatt refused police officer's orders to show his hands and refused to come out so Officer Julio Amador used his canine, Tyson, to grab a hold of a leg to allow Officer James Riley to force his hands up to be cuffed.
Pyatt was on probation. He was arrested and charged with commercial burglary and obstructing police.
• TWO ARRESTED AFTER POT FOUND IN CAR: CERES - Three persons were arrested Saturday after marijuana was found by police in the car they were riding in.
Officer Jeremy Lewis responded to a security company call of a suspicious car in the parking lot of Howard Training Center on Stonum Road at 11:04 p.m.
Officer Lewis arrived and found the car leaving in a hurry. He followed the 1998 Cadillac Deville to the Cost Less Foods area. The three occupants were acting suspiciously so Officer Joe Wren walked his canine Zeus around the vehicle and it picked up on a suspicious scent on the rear passenger door. That's all the officer needed to search the car without a warrant. An Igloo container in the back was filled with marijuana. Search of the center console revealed a pistol.
Driver Patricio Sandoval, 19, of Modesto, was arrested on charges of carrying a concealed weapon, transportation of marijuana for sale and DUI.
Eva Sandoval, 22, of Modesto, was arrested for transportation of marijuana.
Junior Sandoval, 18, of San Jose, was arrested and charged on weapons charges.
• SHOT FIRED AT PARTY: CERES - The person who fired a small round pistol outside of a large party gathered outside Windmere Apartment unit #65 at 2717 Roeding Road early Sunday morning, Aug. 11 managed to flee the scene without arrest.
Police were called at 4:36 a.m. after three shots were fired by one of the party goers who had a conflict with another at the party. The shooter then left in a southbound direction and fled before police arrived.
No bullet holes were found by police.
• TWO ARRESTED IN CAR THEFT: CERES - Two persons were arrested Wednesday, Aug. 7 after they were found with a stolen bicycle and stolen vehicle in the 1400 block of Nadine Avenue.
At 11 a.m. police were serving a warrant in the neighborhood when Officer Josh Kling watched a suspicious male on a bike. As he was watching he was flagged down by a bystander who reported seeing a stolen bike in the trunk of a white car.
Kling followed the vehicle as it pulled into the driveway at 4545 Nadine Avenue. The occupants bolted from the 1987 Toyota Camry, which proved to be stolen out of Redwood City. Kling unleashed his canine which assisted in apprehending one of the males.
Officer Pat Dayton located another male that jumped over a fence. Dayton struck the suspect with a baton and stopped him for arrest.
Cesar Zavala, 18, of Menlo Park, was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property and obstructing police.
A 15-year-old Redwood City male was also arrested and charged with possession of stolen property and obstructing police.
• TRANSIENT FAILS TO REGISTER AS SEX OFFENDER: CERES - Officer Jon Vera made an arrest of a transient man from San Jose who was living in Ceres but failed to register as a sex offender.
Police were dispatched at 1 p.m. on Thursday to 2405 Acorn Lane where Richard Gutierrez, 43, had been living for three months without registering as required by law for past conviction of sex crimes.
He was arrested and booked.
