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Concealed knife puts Oakdale man back in jail
• Ceres officer makes traffic stop on probationer
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Officer Mathew Berlier was patrolling in the area of River Road and Bystrum at 11:52 a.m. and saw a vehicle pull into the River Road Market with expired registration. Officer Berlier approached the car when driver Shawn Hepstall exited the vehicle. Hepstall was ordered back into the car and became argumentative but eventually complied. As Officer Berlier explained why Hepstall was being stopped, he became uncooperative and argumentative so a backup officer was called. Dispatchers conducted a records check of Shawn and learned he was on PRCS and county probation.  He was detained and searched and found with two hypodermic syringes and a concealed large fixed blade hunting knife with a 4-inch long blade. The knife was not equipped with a hand guard and was readily accessible to be used as a stabbing weapon.  Because he is on PRCS and probation, Hepstall is prohibited from owning or possessing a knife and was booked for felony possession of a concealed dirk or dagger along with probation violation.

Post Release Community Supervision (PRCS) is a program signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2011.