A 29-year-old Empire man who was observed speeding in the area of Sixth and Park streets was arrested Saturday evening after he led officers on a short pursuit.

At approximately 11:30 p.m. Ceres Police officers observed a Chevy Tahoe being driven at a high rate of speed and fail to stop at the stop sign at the same intersection. Officer Christian Diaz attempted to catch up with the Tahoe and later located it in the drive-thru lane at McDonald’s in the 1200 block of E. Whitmore Ave. Driver Nicodemus Fabian Zavala appeared to be under the influence but refused to take field sobriety tests. He was arrested on suspicion of DUI. Police learned that Zavala was driving on a license that was suspended for multiple prior DUI arrests.

Zavala was transported to a local hospital for a blood draw to determine his blood alcohol concentration (BAC.) He was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center and his vehicle was towed from the scene and impounded for 30 days.