Modesto Officer Witnesses Drive-By Shooting; Suspects Arrested
MODESTO (CBS13) - A Modesto Police officer witnessed a drive-by shooting Monday night, pursued the vehicle and eventually helped in the apprehension of two suspects.
The incident started at about 6 p.m. when the officer was on patrol in west Modesto. His attention was drawn to a car traveling north on Sutter Avenue, and the officer reportedly witnessed the suspects in the car shooting out the window toward a residence.
As the suspect vehicle passed the officer, the officer made a quick U-Turn and got behind the car. The driver then led the officer on a short pursuit, police said.
At one point, the driver of the suspect car stopped in the 900 block of Rouse Avenue and two occupants fled on foot into the residential neighborhood nearby, according to police.
Officers located a handgun inside the suspect's abandoned car. Officers then established a large perimeter around the neighborhood, which included several square blocks. Deputies from the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office and officers from the California Highway Patrol and Ceres Police Department also converged on the scene.
Witnesses reported seeing the suspects jumping fences and running across yards, police said. At that point, several Modesto Police canine officers, the Modesto Police SWAT team and the sheriff's helicopter assisted in the search.
Daniel Ramirez, a 19-year-old Modesto resident, was located and arrested in the 700 block of Roselawn Avenue.
The search for the driver led officers to a residence in the 900 block of Rouse Avenue. Officers surrounded the house and made contact with the occupants, including the driver of the suspect vehicle, a 17-year-old Modesto resident. He was eventually arrested without incident.
While there, officers say they saw Greg Woody, a 38-year-old Modesto resident, in possession a handgun. Woody is the father of the 17-year-old suspected driver and he appeared to be attempting to wipe fingerprints from the gun, according to police.
The gun is believed to have been used in this shooting. Woody was arrested and booked for being a felon in possession of a firearm and parole violations.
Officers also went to Ramirez's home in the 700 block of Roselawn Avenue, contacted 20-year-old Vanessa McDougall and reportedly found her to be in possession of a quantity of marijuana sufficient for sales and an AK-47 assault rifle. McDougall was arrested and booked for the drug and firearm violations.
Ramirez was booked for negligent discharge of a firearm and possession of stolen property. The 17-year-old driver was booked into juvenile hall for negligent discharge of a firearm, evading police and being a minor in possession of a firearm.
Investigators will be following up on the initial drive-by shooting to determine what the motive may have been and who the intended target was. Fortunately, no one was injured during the shooting.
