Probe leads to seven stolen vehicles, two arrests in Stanislaus County
Auto theft investigators went looking for a stolen flatbed truck this week. They didn’t find that truck, but they arrested two men and found seven stolen vehicles in Turlock, Hughson, Modesto and Ceres.
The Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force also recovered $115,000 worth of tools and equipment during the investigation. The recovered stolen vehicles had a total value of $250,000, according to a news release from the California Highway Patrol.
Greg Mark Craytor, 32, of Hughson and James Werner Sass, 33, of Modesto were arrested early Wednesday on suspicion of vehicle theft and grand theft, the CHP reported.
The task force was conducting a follow-up investigation into the theft of a 2006 Ford E-350 flatbed truck and a commercial pressure washer at a home on Moffett Road in Turlock. At the home, the investigators spotted a stolen 2004 Ford Winnebago motor home and a 2006 Ford F-250 pickup that had been stripped of its parts, authorities said. The pickup bed had been turned into a trailer.
Also at the Moffett Road home, the investigators found three California license plates that belonged to a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado pickup, a 2013 Chevrolet Camaro and a 2007 Jay motor home. These stolen vehicles have not been found.
The task force continued its surveillance at the Moffett Road home and saw a 2006 Ford E-350 box truck arrive. The CHP said Craytor was driving the box truck that had been reported stolen in Livermore. The investigators took Craytor into custody.
The task force’s investigation then moved to Hughson, where investigators found a 1994 Freightliner big rig stolen from Stockton, authorities reported. Attached to the big rig was a 1979 Sea Land trailer reported stolen from Hughson.
The CHP said Sass was taken into custody in Hughson, and he is suspected of stealing the big rig and the trailer.
The investigation then moved to a home in the 3000 block of Mill Bay Court in east Modesto, where the task force found a stolen commercial pressure washer attached to a trailer, according to the report.
Investigators then went to a home in the 3000 block of McKittrick Court in Ceres, where they found a stolen 2003 Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle, the CHP said.
Along with the stolen vehicles, investigators found stolen construction equipment during their investigation, authorities said.
This story was originally published October 30, 2014 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Probe leads to seven stolen vehicles, two arrests in Stanislaus County."