Copperopolis., CA…On 4-16-18 the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a commercial burglary at the True Value store on Spangler Lane in Copperopolis. In reviewing video surveillance, deputies saw that at approx. 0315 hours, a black Jeep Cherokee with no license plates smashed into the glass door of the business. Two occupants of the vehicle then entered the store and stole various Stihl products including chain saws, rototiller, and a cement saw. The subjects then fled the area. Calaveras deputies shared a Be-On-The-Lookout alert to surrounding agencies for the commercial burglary suspects.

The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office notified Calaveras deputies of a vehicle pursuit that happened around the same time frame with a suspect vehicle matching the Copperopolis burglary vehicle description. Calaveras Deputies were told that the California Highway Patrol initiated a traffic stop on a black Jeep Cherokee with no license plates in Tuolumne County around 0330 hours. The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the pursuit which ended around Rock River Road in Tuolumne County and the occupants of the suspect vehicle fled on foot. Recovered from inside the Jeep Cherokee were brand new Stihl products matching the exact description of what was stolen in Copperopolis.

The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office then responded to a report of a home owner in the area holding two suspects at gun point who had broken into and were hiding inside his garage. The two suspects, identified as Kenneth Carnes (age 39) and Matt Ayers (age 31) were both arrested. These two men were wearing clothing that matched the description of the Copperopolis burglary suspects. Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office detectives are working with the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office in conducting follow-up for the Copperopolis True Value burglary.