A man was booked for petty theft on Tuesday morning, Dec. 6, after he allegedly stole a cell phone and cash from an employee's purse at Ceres Veterinary Clinic and then fled into a large field across the street.

The suspect, John Iwed, 27, of Modesto, was chased down by employees as police were called. When police arrived at around 10 a.m. they located Iwed inside a storage facility next to the field. Officers were able to recover all of the property stolen from the victim's purse.

Iwed was booked for petty theft and a violation of probation.