Scrum inside Modesto theater spills outside, where deputies were arresting someone else
Five teenagers were arrested at Brenden Theaters in downtown Modesto on Tuesday evening after allegedly assaulting employees who asked them to leave when they started smoking inside.
Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Sharon Bear said the incident began at about 7:30 p.m. when a customer service employee overheard an employee at the ticket counter telling the minors, ages 13 to 17, to leave.
The customer service employee got out his phone and told the teens he was calling police, Bear said. A 17-year-old boy allegedly slapped the phone out of the employee’s hand and all five of the teens started punching him. Two other employees went to the aid of their co-worker and someone else ran outside for help.
“Some guy comes running out of Brenden frantically screaming,” said Stanislaus County sheriff’s Lt. Tom Letras. He and a handful of other deputies were nearby because they’d just arrested a shooting suspect in an unrelated incident.
He said deputies went to detain the minors, who in turn started fighting with deputies.
Authorities said one of the suspects, a 16-year-old girl, was kicking deputies and had to be put in a Wrap, which is designed to restrain a suspect’s legs and arms in a seated position.
All of the suspects were ultimately detained, with deputies suffering a few scrapes and bruises.
The 16-year-old girl, a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy were cited and released to their parents on suspicion of battery, conspiracy and resisting arrest, all misdemeanors.
The 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy were arrested on suspicion of the same charges but were booked into juvenile hall because they face felony charges, Bear said. The 17-year-old was booked for felony robbery because he was found with the phone he’d allegedly knocked from the employee’s hand. The 16-year-old boy faces a felony charge of resisting arrest for allegedly threatening the officer who was detaining him.
An ambulance was called to the scene to treat one of the employees, who suffered minor injuries.
All the suspects also were medically cleared at hospitals before they were either booked or released to their parents.
This story was originally published August 24, 2022 at 3:22 PM.
