MODESTO -- Two suspected car burglars were arrested Wednesday after a pair of vigilantes chased them in a car and rammed their vehicle, disabling it in front of McHenry Village shopping center Wednesday afternoon.
The incident started about 2:10 p.m. at an apartment complex in the 600 block of Granger Avenue. A man and woman driving in the area saw a man use a baseball bat to smash the window of a parked car and take several items from it, said Lt. Scott Blom.
When the suspect saw the witnesses, he ran to a waiting car with two other people inside. Seeing the suspects were trying to get away, the witnesses positioned their vehicle in front of the suspects' to block it.
Blom said the suspects' vehicle then rammed the witnesses' car several times until it could get past. The witnesses gave chase, following the suspects north to Briggsmore Avenue and then east across McHenry Avenue.
Just east of McHenry, near a northern entrance to McHenry Village, the witnesses rammed the suspects' car, disabling both vehicles. The three suspects then ran from their car. Officers searched the area, including the rooftops of McHenry Village stores, where some witnesses had reported seeing the suspects.
But they weren't found there. Two were located about 10 minutes after the crash, near the AT&T store at McHenry and Granger.
Albert Luna, 25, and Shannon Ramirez, 35, both of Modesto, were arrested on suspicion of vehicle burglary and conspiracy. Luna also was arrested for probation violation. The third person, described only as a white male, remains at large.
Inside the suspects' vehicle, officers found stolen property from the car on Granger, including CDs and audio books, Blom said.
Bee staff writer Erin Tracy can be reached at etracy@modbee.com or (209) 578-2366. Follow her on Twitter, @ModestoBeeCrime.
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