Two men riding around south Modesto in a stolen pickup were arrested Wednesday.

Members of the Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force spotted a stolen 1998 Ford F-150 near Crows Landing Road and Pecos Avenue. As the pickup moved through the neighborhood it eventually pulled up behind a 2003 Ford F-250 pickup which also had been stolen. Officers watched as driver Tyler Adams, 34, of Modesto, drove to a gas station in the 900 block of E. Hatch Road, where he was detained while buying a cold drink. 

His passenger, felon Joseph Brzostowski, 37, of Modesto, refused to comply with demands to get out of the pickup so a Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department canine unit was called in. He told officers that he had a loaded handgun so he was removed at gunpoint. 

Brzostowski was booked on one count of auto theft and three charges related to being a felon in possession of a loaded firearm.

Adams was booked on two counts of auto theft and violating the terms of his probation.

Both pickups were released to their Modesto owners.