Two men were arrested early Monday morning after they were seen fleeing Kmart where burglar alarms were going off, leading police on a short pursuit and crashing and rolling over.
Booked on Monday were Brian Hackett, 33, of Empire, a active parolee and driver of the van, and Sean Keenan, 46, also a parolee. Hackett was charged with leading police on a pursuit and commercial burglary while Keenan was booked for commercial burglary.
This was the second time Hatch Road Kmart had been burglarized in two weeks, said Police Lt. Brent Smith. In the first burglary thieves took $20,000 in jewelry. The pair may have been involved in the first heist as well as other Kmart stores, including one in Atwater, which were victimized.
When the store's burglar alarm went off at 3:23 a.m., Officer Jon Vera responded and found a van in the garden area west of the store, then spotted two white males leaving the building. They jumped in the van and took off as Vera was in pursuit. Hackett would not yield to red lights and siren and fled at speeds up to 80 to 100 mph. He lost control at Bystrum and Latimer where the van struck a curb in front of Ceres Fire Station 2, rolled and landed upright. Both occupants were hurt and unable to run away, said Lt. Smith.
Both were treated at separate hospitals and were released. They were interrogated about the crime and possible other burglaries.
• PARKED CAR HIT BY INTOXICATED DRIVER: CERES - A high blood alcohol content was all the evidence needed by Ceres police to arrest Julio Ramirez, 35, of Ceres, for drunk driving. Ramirez drove into a parked vehicle in the 2000 block of Don Pedro Road at 10:22 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 9.
Ramirez was eastbound Don Pedro in a brown 2000 Kia Sophia before he struck the second vehicle. He was not injured.
Lt. Brent Smith said that Ramirez had a blood alcohol content of 0.14.
Booked on Monday were Brian Hackett, 33, of Empire, a active parolee and driver of the van, and Sean Keenan, 46, also a parolee. Hackett was charged with leading police on a pursuit and commercial burglary while Keenan was booked for commercial burglary.
This was the second time Hatch Road Kmart had been burglarized in two weeks, said Police Lt. Brent Smith. In the first burglary thieves took $20,000 in jewelry. The pair may have been involved in the first heist as well as other Kmart stores, including one in Atwater, which were victimized.
When the store's burglar alarm went off at 3:23 a.m., Officer Jon Vera responded and found a van in the garden area west of the store, then spotted two white males leaving the building. They jumped in the van and took off as Vera was in pursuit. Hackett would not yield to red lights and siren and fled at speeds up to 80 to 100 mph. He lost control at Bystrum and Latimer where the van struck a curb in front of Ceres Fire Station 2, rolled and landed upright. Both occupants were hurt and unable to run away, said Lt. Smith.
Both were treated at separate hospitals and were released. They were interrogated about the crime and possible other burglaries.
• PARKED CAR HIT BY INTOXICATED DRIVER: CERES - A high blood alcohol content was all the evidence needed by Ceres police to arrest Julio Ramirez, 35, of Ceres, for drunk driving. Ramirez drove into a parked vehicle in the 2000 block of Don Pedro Road at 10:22 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 9.
Ramirez was eastbound Don Pedro in a brown 2000 Kia Sophia before he struck the second vehicle. He was not injured.
Lt. Brent Smith said that Ramirez had a blood alcohol content of 0.14.
