Hollister
– The rain that muddied Hollister in recent days helped deputies
recover a stolen pickup truck and catch two suspects in a Thursday
night burglary at San Juan Oaks Golf Club.
Hollister – The rain that muddied Hollister in recent days helped deputies recover a stolen pickup truck and catch two suspects in a Thursday night burglary at San Juan Oaks Golf Club.
Francisco Espinoza Rodriguez, a 27-year-old Hollister resident, was arrested by the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office at 11:15pm Thursday on suspicion of felony evading police and burglary.
Anthony Madruga, 34, of Hollister, was arrested by deputies at 2:30pm Friday on suspicion of evading police, burglary and parole violation.
The arrests followed two separate chases Thursday night involving deputies’ pursuit of a sport utility vehicle and a golf course maintenance truck that ended only when both fleeing vehicles became stuck in muddy fields, sheriff’s Lt. Roy Iler said.
“I think the weather worked to our benefit,” he said.
Hollister received 0.32 inches of rain Wednesday and Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
The chase began when deputy Ralph Morden was checking the maintenance area of the golf club and noticed an open gate at 10:50pm Thursday, Iler said. As Morden drove into the maintenance area, a 1990 Nissan Pathfinder SUV and a 1995 Ford F-150 drove out past him, Iler said. The deputy attempted to stop the vehicles, but both fled onto Union Road, he said.
As the vehicles turned eastbound on Highway 156, the Ford pickup – a golf course-owned maintenance truck – headed back toward Hollister while the Nissan SUV continued on the highway, Iler said.
Faced with a choice, Morden decided to follow the SUV, Iler said.
“He figured the one heading toward town would have a better chance of being picked up by other units,” Iler said.
Morden followed the SUV from Highway 156 onto Wright Road, then to San Felipe Road and out to where Chappell Road makes a 90-degree turn, Iler said. At the turn on Chappell Road, the SUV continued into a field, he said.
The SUV drove past waiting deputies into another field where it stopped a mile north of McCloskey Road, Iler said. Deputies began to enter the field and found a man laying in the mud near the vehicle, Iler said.
After deputies arrived back at the sheriff’s office, another deputy on patrol passed the Ford pickup heading in the opposite direction on Monterey Street, Iler said.
Deputies began to chase the truck with the help of Hollister police.
Sgt. Mike Rodrigues used the sheriff’s off-road, 4-wheel-drive Ford F-250 to chase the stolen truck into a field north of the end of Westside Road and around Park Hill, Iler said. Rodrigues found the truck stuck in mud 50 yards east of the railroad tracks behind Tiffany Ford, Iler said.
Deputies found a lawn mower and a leaf blower in the back of the pickup, but the driver was gone, he said.
After questioning Rod-riguez at the county jail, deputies drove to a home in the 100 block of San Felipe Road, where they arrested Madruga at 2:30pm Friday, Iler said.
The house where Madruga was arrested was just a short distance from where deputies had found the stolen Ford pickup Thursday night, Iler said.
Iler said investigators believe the Nissan SUV was used to to break through the gate of the San Juan Oaks maintenance area.
Scott Fuller, the general manager of the golf club, said the burglary was the second at San Juan Oaks in the last month. The club installed an alarm for the maintenance building after the first incident.
“There’s actually motion detectors on the perimeter of the building,” he said. “But I don’t think those were operating correctly.”
Fuller said he thinks the deputy’s arrival Thursday night may have prevented further loss or damage to the club.
Rodriguez is being held at the San Benito County Jail in lieu of $72,000 bail, according to jail personnel. Madruga is being held in lieu of $61,000 bail.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or
mv*********@fr***********.com
.
