Police responded to a report of a robbery at the AT&T store in the 1700 block of Mitchell Road at 11:35 a.m. on Thursday, July 11 in which a man armed with a gun stole cell phones and electronic tablets before fleeing to the rear of the business.
Surveillance video shows the suspect climbing into what appears to be a tan or gold full-size sedan, possibly a Chrysler 300 or similar vehicle.
No one was injured during the robbery.
The suspect has been described as a black man in his 30s, standing about 5-foot-10, and weighing 185 pounds with lettering tattoos on his arms. The suspect was wearing dark-colored baggy jeans, a black shirt with white lettering and a black, flat-billed baseball cap that had white lettering. No hair was protruding from underneath the cap. He was described as having sideburns and facial hair, similar to a thin chin strap style beard.
Anyone with information about the suspect, the location of the stolen property, or familiar with the vehicle is urged to contact Detective Hively at 538-5728 or via email at ahively@ci.ceres.ca.us. Tips may also be anonymously reported to the Stanislaus Area Crime Stoppers, 1-866-60-CRIME ortext tips to ‘274637" with TIP704 in the wording.
In other significant crimes this week, these items made it to the Courier's Crime Digest:
• TEEN ARRESTED IN STOLEN CAR: CERES - A 15-year-old Modesto teenager was arrested on Wednesday, July 10 after an officer with the Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force (StanCATT) had suspicions that the red 1994 Honda Civic he was driving was stolen.
At 9:40 a.m. Jason Brock was driving through Ceres looking for stolen vehicles and picked up the Honda at Hatch Road near Highway 99. Brock followed the car and learned that it had been stolen in Pleasanton on July 8. By then the officer was tailing the stolen car at Third Street and El Camino Avenue.
The suspect was followed over the Pine Street overpass to Central Avenue. Brock drove alongside the stolen car and threw down a spike strip underneath the Honda's wheels to flatten the tires. The car was halted at Pine Street and Central Avenue.
Officers vectored in and helped arrest the suspect and charge him with auto theft, possession of stolen property and possession of burglary tools.
• SHOTS FIRED: CERES - Police found several .32-caliber shell casings at the location of a reported drive-by shooting at midnight on Saturday, July 13. The suspect, however, was nowhere to be found.
Officer Jeremy Caron was patrolling the 1600 block of Cullen Avenue when he was flagged down by a citizen who saw someone in a newer silver or gray Chevy Impala fire several rounds. Police could not locate any bullet holes.
• CAR STOLEN FROM GARAGE: CERES - A side door to an attached residential garage was left open for ventilation but also allowed a thief to enter on Wednesday, July 10. The theft of a car was reported at 4:12 a.m.
The resident believed that the garage was entered between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. Taken in the burglary was the theft of a1997 Honda Civic (license plate #3BN030), and a 10-drawer Craftsman tool box.
The home was not entered.
• MOM'S PURSE RIPPED OFF: CERES - The mother of a stranded male motorist was robbed of her purse early Wednesday, July 10 when an armed man came out of the bushes and demanded that she turn over it over.
The woman lost her credit cards and drivers' license.
The Modesto woman, 45, came to the rescue of her 23-year-old son, who was broken down on the side of northbound Highway 99 south of the Hatch Road exit.
A suspect described as a thin white man wearing a grey-colored hooded sweatshirt and a bandana came out of the oleander bushes with a handgun and demanded the woman's purse.
After the 5:12 a.m. robbery the victims called for help at the nearby Chevron station. The suspect, who was last seen jumping the fence that separates the freeway from the frontage road, was not found.
• DUI DRIVER NOT FAULT IN CRASH: CERES - A Modesto driver was arrested Friday for a drunken driving crash that was deemed not his fault.
The non-injury crash occurred at 12:19 a.m. at Hatch Road and Richland Avenue when Natalie Hernandez, 18, of Ceres, drove a 2002 Cadillac Escalade into the right-of-way of a 1979 Chevy Silverado pickup driven by Modestan Barry Deschone Stoughtenborough, 42. He was southbound on Richland Avenue making a right turn onto Hatch Road when he was struck by Hernandez's westbound Cadillac.
However, police noticed that Stoughtenborough, driving two small children and an adult cousin, appeared to be intoxicated. He blew a blood alcohol content of 0.8 on the breathalyzer and was arrested on charges of DUI and child endangerment.
