Four men suspected of shooting a sawed-off shotgun in Denair were arrested after a high-speed pursuit ended in a Turlock neighborhood behind Walmart.
The shooting was reported around 8 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Santa Fe and Berkeley avenues. It is believed the suspects were shooting the gun from the sports utility vehicle they were riding in, but it is not suspected that they were firing at anyone or anything in particular, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department.
A description of the SUV and the suspects was dispatched out to local law enforcement and it wasn’t long before a California Highway Patrol officer spotted the vehicle headed westbound on Keyes Road.
The CHP officer followed the SUV and witnessed a passenger on the right side throw a gun out the window. The gun was later recovered and was found to be a sawed-off shotgun, said CHP spokesman Officer Eric Parsons.
CHP officers attempted to perform a traffic stop on the SUV, but the driver sped off. The pursuit continued onto southbound Highway 99 as the SUV reached a speed of 100 mph, Parsons said.
The SUV got off the freeway at the Fulkerth exit and continued speeding through city streets. The vehicle then turned into a residential neighborhood on Shetland Way and came to a stop. Three of the four passengers were arrested at the vehicle and one passenger fled on foot.
While conducting a search of the area, an officer saw the suspect run out from a nearby back yard and into the Walmart parking lot, where he was apprehended.
A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of 25 pounds of marijuana.
The four suspects were all taken into custody. Their identities had not been confirmed at the time of their arrest. Charges are pending.