CLOVIS, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Two people have been arrested for allegedly shoplifting at a store in Clovis and leading officers on a brief pursuit on Tuesday, the Clovis Police Department said.
Police say shortly before 10:30 a.m., officers were called to the retail shopping center on Clovis and Herndon Avenues for a shoplifting in progress.
Dispatchers used the city camera network and the suspects’ descriptions provided by the store employee to find them and notify officers as they were exiting the parking lot.
Police identified the suspects as 24-year-old Aliza Vega-Estrada and 25-year-old Matthew Schwarz, both of Fresno.
Officers pulled them over in their car, but they sped away, and a brief pursuit began, according to police.
Police say after the pursuit was canceled near Bullard Avenue and Highway 168, a resident called in suspicious activity with adults matching the descriptions of the suspects.
According to police, officers received assistance from various divisions and Fresno’s Police Air 1 helicopter.
Police say Vega-Estrada was found with a handgun and had her toddler with her. Schwarz has been a wanted gang member since 2019, according to police.
Both suspects were arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment, shoplifting, and conspiracy. Police say Vega-Estrada was also arrested for allegedly having the illegally concealed firearm and Schwarz was also arrested for allegedly evading officers and for a warrant.
Police say their car was impounded and the three children they share are in the custody of Child Protective Services.
Vega-Estrada and Schwarz were both booked into the Fresno County Jail.
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