Law & Order

CYCLIST STRUCK BY CAR: Modestan Diana Smith, 38, was taken to Doctors Medical Center on Friday after her bicycle was hit by an unidentified driver in a white Chevrolet shortly after 1 p.m. Police said Smith was riding the bicycle near Kerr and Monterey avenues in the airport neighborhood. She suffered injuries to her head, shoulder and hips, and was in stable condition Friday night, according to a nursing supervisor.

PUBLIC'S HELP SOUGHT: It has been more than a year since Lloyd Ernest Borrelli was shot in front of a home just west of Empire, and sheriff's detectives are asking for help in finding the shooter. Borrelli, 59, was shot June 2, 2007, shortly after he dropped off his girlfriend at her home on Frazine Road, north of Yosemite Boulevard. Someone approached Borrelli and fired several shots from a handgun, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department. Borrelli was taken by ambulance to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, where he died. Detectives have not made any arrests and have no suspects in the case. The Sheriff's Department asks anyone with information about this case to call Detective Jon McQuery at 525-7099 or CrimeStoppers at 521-4636. Callers to CrimeStoppers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.

MAN ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH 'SLED RIDE': A Merced man was arrested Wednesday after, authorities said, he pulled his 11-year-old cousin on a box-spring mattress behind a pickup through the streets of Merced. Christopher Rodas, 19, of Merced was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment after being spotted pulling his cousin about four blocks at 30 to 35 mph on El Redondo Drive. Rodas told Merced County sheriff's deputy Dustin Witt that they had found the mattress on the side of the road.

COPPER THEFT SUSPECTS HELD: Merced County authorities arrested a couple on suspicion of trying to steal copper pipes from the former Castle Air Force Base. Lori Cooper, 40, of Winton and Martin Lorenzo, 37, of Nevada were booked Thursday on charges of burglary after deputy Patrick Heaney and Merced County sheriff's Cmdr. Tom Cavallero answered a call about two people, including a woman wearing a backpack, trespassing near vacant dorms in the 2100 block of Aviation Drive. After finding the couple, Cavallero discovered a backpack filled with bolt cutters, a hand saw and a cordless drill stashed in a dorm. According to a statement released by deputy Tom MacKenzie, the two were stripping insulation from copper pipes and wires inside the building so they could take them for their scrap value. Heaney found a pump in Lorenzo's vehicle that authorities believe might be connected with several diesel fuel thefts in the area. Both suspects were booked into Merced County Jail on charges of burglary, possession of burglary tools and trespassing, and remain in custody on $15,000 bail.

STABBING VICTIM STABLE: Four people were walking down the road in the 9000 block of Hillside Drive in Delhi on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. when several people approached them from behind and started yelling gang slurs. One of the four, a 25-year-old Latino man from Delhi, told the people following them that they didn't belong to any gangs. The group started chasing the four and a fight ensued. During the altercation, the 25-year-old was stabbed in the stomach, causing a wound about six inches in length and several inches deep. He went home and called an ambulance. He was flown to a Modesto hospital, where he remains in stable condition. There was a description of only one of the attackers: a Latino man in his mid-20s, wearing black shorts, a white shirt and a black bandanna. Anyone with information is asked to call the Merced County Sheriff's Department at 385-7444.