Two men were arrested after they crashed a stolen car during a pursuit with Ceres Police Thursday evening.
Police found a fully loaded AR-15 in the vehicle.
Both occupants had multiple felony warrants for their arrest. In addition to the outstanding warrants, the suspects were booked for evading law enforcement and weapon-related offenses.
The incident began at approximately 10:26 p.m. when Ceres officers were alerted to a stolen 2000 Honda Civic in the vicinity of Hatch and Mitchell roads. Officer Charles Lord-Huff spotted the vehicle near the intersection of Hatch Road and Santa Fe Avenue.
As Officer Lord-Huff followed the stolen vehicle and awaited the arrival of backup officers, the driver of the stolen car pulled over for a traffic stop. When the officer approached the car, the driver sped off, and a pursuit began.
The pursuit continued through rural county roads east of Ceres. The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office helicopter unit tracked the suspect from the air.
A Stanislaus County Deputy was able to successfully deployed stop sticks in front of the stolen vehicle, causing the tires to deflate and causing it to slow.
To bring the pursuit to an end, Officer Eric Souza successfully executed a PIT maneuver, disabling the stolen vehicle.
The driver, Faustino Vera, 31, of Modesto, exited and surrendered to officers, while passenger Joseph Brown, 26, of Modesto, ran into a dark area. Officer Kevin Gallenkamp and his canine partner, Fiona, were able to apprehend the second suspect.
Vera was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on charges of evading a police officer in a vehicle, vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, being a felon in possession of a firearm, being a felon in possession of ammunition, possession of an assault weapon and several felony warrants.
Brown was booked on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, ammunition, and an assault weapon, vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, resisting arrest and several felony warrants.
