A youthful documented gang member and five others – three of them were adults – were arrested at the end of a police pursuit of a stolen vehicle early Sunday.

At approximately 2:18 a.m., Ceres Police officers located a gray 2017 Kia Sportage reported stolen in the area of 10th Street and Whitmore Avenue.

Officers Eric Souza, Salin Chrim, and Samuel Garcia attempted a traffic stop on the vehicle at Whitmore Avenue and Mitchell Road. However, the driver continued to flee, leading to a vehicle pursuit through Ceres streets.

During the pursuit, the officers saw a loaded sawed-off shotgun being tossed out the window at Della Drive and Colleen Way which was immediately retrieved by one of the pursuing officers. The serial number had been scratched off. To bring the dangerous pursuit to an end, Officer Souza successfully executed a PIT maneuver on Parks Road to disable the stolen vehicle.

Three adults and three Ceres juveniles were arrested.

Alexis Villalobos, 19 and Marcos Iniguez, 18, both of Modesto, and Genesis Suarez, 20 of Ceres were all booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on charges of possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a short barreled shotgun, resisting arrest, altering or removing the serial number of a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm with the intent to commit a felony and carrying a loaded firearm in public.

Suarez spat on two of the officers, netting her an assault on officers charge. Because the other occupants refused the officers orders they received charges of resisting, delaying or obstructing a police officer.

One of the four Ceres juveniles in the car was released from the scene while the other three, ranging in age from 14 to 17, were booked into Juvenile Hall on the same charges as the adults with the exception of the driver who was additionally arrested for evading police in a vehicle.

Inside the vehicle, officers located a spent shotgun shell casing.

It was discovered that at one of the minors arrested is a documented gang member.