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Pursuit ends with arrest for trio of thieves
Craig
Colin Craig

Three suspected burglars were taken into custody Monday morning after leading police officers on a pursuit through the north end of Turlock that ended in an orchard near Hughson.

In addition to the arrests, Turlock police officers recovered several stolen items, some of which the suspects were tossing from the stolen vehicle in their failed bid to escape arrest.

The arrest was set into motion around 9:30 a.m. Monday when an individual called in a suspicious vehicle in the area of Hawkeye Avenue and Quincy Road. The caller had written down the license plate number and a check revealed the vehicle had been reported stolen out of Modesto, Turlock Police Lt. Ron Reid said.

An officer spotted the vehicle in the area of Hawkeye and Colorado avenues and attempted to pull it over, but the driver sped off.

The pursuit wound through the northeast section of Turlock, before heading northbound into the country.

As the chase continued down a country road, and officers saw property being thrown from the car, including an asp, which is an expandable baton.

In the 1100 block of Aldrich Road, just east of Hughson, the driver made an attempt to elude the pursuing officers by turning into an orchard. However, the car wasn’t able to take the terrain shift and was soon disabled, Reid said.

With the vehicle out of commission, the trio surrendered to the officers without further incident.

No injuries were reported.

The driver of the car was identified as 30-year-old Colin Craig of Modesto. He was booked for possession of the stolen vehicle, possession of stolen property, felony evading, and committing crimes while out on bail for other charges, Reid said. 

The two passengers, Joseph Walker, 34, of Modesto, and Daniel Reagan, 27, of Turlock were also both arrested. Walker was charged with possession of heroin, possession of methamphetamine, possession of the asp thrown from the car during the pursuit, possession of metal knuckles, possession of stolen property, violation of probation, five outstanding warrants, and attempting to smuggle methamphetamine into the jail during the booking process. Reagan was charged with possession of heroin, possession of a zip-gun, which is an illegal single-shot fabricated gun, possession of stolen property, and a parole hold.

Several of the burglary victims have been identified by Turlock officers and their property has been returned to them, Reid said.