Two men who tried to use stolen credit cards at Walmart on Friday afternoon were arrested and booked.
At 12:44 p.m. the store notified Ceres police that two men, Craig Simonson, 30, of Ceres, and Larry Utley, 55, of Merced, were trying to buy items with the fraudulent credit cards and ID. Detective Britton Moore stopped the men from leaving in their vehicle. He searched their car and found several fake credit cards and licenses.
Simonson was booked on charges of possession of stolen property and petty theft.
Utley was arrested for a warrant issued by Merced Police Department.
Other noteworthy crimes occurring in Ceres recently are as follows:
• MAN HOSPITALIZED AFTER FIGHT: CERES - A 54-year-old Ceres man suffered a possible fractured jaw and was taken to a local hospital Friday evening after a large fight broke out in the 3100 block of S. Central Avenue.
About 15 individuals were involved in the 7 p.m. brawl but all scattered by the time officers arrived. About four persons at the scene had been injured and suffered minor contusions, bruises and cuts.
No one was arrested but a report was taken.
• POLICE SEEK ASSAULT SUSPECT: CERES - Police are looking for a man who allegedly assaulted a driver who gave him a ride from the Blue Horse Lounge early Saturday morning.
George Arteaga, 34, of Modesto, has been identified as the man who accepted a ride and then allegedly punched the driver during the suspicious event. Police identified Arteaga from the cell phone that he inadvertently left in the victim's car, said Ceres Police Lt. Brent Smith.
The assault took place at approximately 1:57 a.m. at the Chevron station at Hatch Road and Herndon Avenue. By the time police arrived the suspect had fled the scene.
Two men offered to give the suspect a ride from the lounge which is in the area of Service and Mitchell roads. The victim said the suspect ran to the McDonald's parking lot east of the station and climbed into a car and was driven away.
"We think maybe he was setting up driver for more than just a ride home," said Lt. Smith.
