A man who stole items from Auto Zone on Hatch Road was unable to peddle his bicycle fast enough to avoid being intercepted and arrested by Ceres Police for his crime on Tuesday, May 14.

At 2 p.m., Officer Pat Dayton was patrolling on Hatch Road when he was flagged down by two Auto Zone employees who pointed to a man leaving on a bicycle who had just stolen items. Dayton drove into the parking lot near the Auto Zone in an attempt to catch up to Randy Provencio, 45, of Modesto. Provencio looked back at the officer and began pedaling faster, weaving through the parking lot and back out onto Hatch Road in an apparent attempt to get away.

Dayton caught up with Provencio in the Kmart parking lot. He admitted to the theft but gave his brother’s name to the officer. Police recovered three USB charging cords.

Upon arrival at the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center, Provencio admitted lying about his identity. He was positively identified and booked for shoplifting, resisting arrest and providing false identification to a peace officer.