Three men spotted by Ceres Police riding around in a stolen Dodge Charger on Tuesday evening, June 20 were later arrested in Madera by the California Highway Patrol.

At 9:48 p.m., Ceres Police Sgt. Vince Hooper was patrolling the area of Mitchell and Rohde roads when he spotted the stolen car and followed it as it began traveling onto southbound Highway 99. Once additional units arrived to assist, Sergeant Hooper attempted to make a vehicle stop in the area of Lander Avenue and Greenway Avenue in Turlock. The driver fled and a pursuit was initiated. Due to the erratic driving, the pursuit was terminated as the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office Air Unit along with the California Highway Patrol began pursuing the vehicle. The pursuit ended in Madera where driver Brandon Smith, 32, and passengers Austin Kuczynski, 21, and Nathan Cooksey, 27, all of Fresno, ran from the vehicle but were detained.

Ceres Police responded to Madera where they took over the investigation. During a search of Smith, a decoding kit was found along with a key fob that was able to start the vehicle.

All three suspects were transported back to Stanislaus County and booked into the Public Safety Center. Smith was booked for felony evading in a vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, vehicle theft and possession of burglary tools. Kuczynski and Cooksey were booked for vehicle theft and possession of a stolen vehicle.