A patrol through a Keyes neighborhood led Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force agents to three stolen vehicles and resulted in the arrest of three people.

Arrested on suspicion of auto theft charges were Dustin Climer, 18, Joshua Kemp, 21, and Charles Long, 20 all of Keyes.

The sequence of events leading to the arrests began on Wednesday in the 4000 block of Anna Ave in Keyes.

While driving through the area, StanCATT agents observed a gold 1996 Honda Accord being worked on in an open dirt lot, and a quick check revealed the car had been reported stolen.

The StanCATT agents set up a surveillance operation on the stolen vehicle, during which they saw a 1994 Chevy Silverado arrive to the open dirt lot. This vehicle had just been reported stolen to CHP-Merced a few hours prior.

When the Silverado arrived, the suspects used the front bumper to push a black 1995 Honda Accord that had been spray painted white into the street. The suspects pushed it multiple blocks, with the stolen gold Honda following behind. The spray-painted Honda was abandoned on the side of the road and the driver of that Honda got into the passenger side of the stolen Silverado. The Silverado and the stolen gold Honda Accord split up and left in different directions.

StanCATT was able to conduct surveillance on both stolen vehicles as they traveled through Keyes. The stolen gold Honda Accord stopped in a residential neighborhood and Climer was taken into custody.

The Silverado left the area and went through dirt fields. A short while later, StanCATT located the stolen Silverado in a trailer park and took Kemp and Long into custody.

The stolen vehicles were all returned to their owners.

The three men were booked into Stanislaus County Jail.