Three suspects in Fresno theft of nearly 50 guns arrested in Modesto
Fresno police and other officers arrested three men in Modesto on Thursday who are suspects in the burglary last month of a Fresno gun shop.
Six people who arrived and fled in two vehicles broke into PRK Firearms, 1401 N. Clovis Ave. in east-central Fresno, the night of Oct. 20. Police found the front door broken open and 23 rifles and 24 handguns missing, The Fresno Bee reported at the time. The guns’ cost ranged from $750 to $2,100 apiece.
A week after the theft, Fresno police received information from detectives in Modesto, Turlock and Stanislaus County that led them here, Fresno Sgt. David Selecky said.. Thursday morning, Fresno and Clovis police officers and ATF officers served four search warrants at multiple locations in west Modesto.
"Those were productive," Selecky said, adding that he couldn't share information on what was recovered.
The names and cities of residence of the three men arrested were not released.
At least as early as 7 a.m. Thursday, a swarm of officers, including SWAT, had South Martin Luther King Drive blocked off south of California Avenue. Shortly after 8 a.m., most of those units moved on to serve another warrant.
Officers who remained had at least four people detained (none ended up being arrested, Selecky said) and were focused on a home on South MLK right across from Ruberto Street.
About 8:50 a.m., Modesto City Schools spokeswoman Becky Fortuna said that both Bret Harte Elementary School and Hanshaw Middle School were on lockdown because of police activity in the area.
The other warrants served Thursday were on the 1600 block of Seattle Street and the 1400 block of Imperial Avenue, Selecky said.
"We wouldn't have been able to do this without the help of the Modesto and Turlock police departments and the Stanislaus County sheriff's and probation departments," he said.
This story was originally published November 2, 2017 at 7:57 AM with the headline "Three suspects in Fresno theft of nearly 50 guns arrested in Modesto."