Officers report arrest of two men in truck theft, one of them armed, in south Modesto

Officers arrested two men suspected of pickup truck theft Wednesday in south Modesto. One was an armed felon, authorities said.

The Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force reported observing a stolen 1998 Ford F-150 in the area of Crows Landing Road and Pecos Avenue.

Officers continued to watch the truck as it drove through a neighborhood and stopped behind a 2003 Ford F-250 that also had been reported stolen, a StanCATT Facebook post said. Someone from the F-150 grabbed items from the bed of the other truck, the report said.

Officers continued surveillance of the F-150 as it went to a gas station on the 900 block of East Hatch Road, where the driver was detained while buying a soda, the post said. He was identified as Tyler Adams, 34, of Modesto.

StanCATT said passenger Joseph Brzostowski, 37, of Modesto refused to get out of the pickup, prompting officers to call in the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, including a K-9 unit.

Brzostowski told officers he had a loaded M1911 handgun on his person, the post said, so StanCATT “developed a tactical plan” to get him out. He was removed, but details on exactly how were not reported.

Brzostowski was booked into the county jail on one count of auto theft and three charges related to being a felon in possession of a loaded firearm. Adams was booked on two counts of auto theft and a probation violation.

Both pickups were released to their owners, who had reported the thefts to the Modesto Police Department.

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This story was originally published August 2, 2018 at 1:02 PM.