Search warrant leads to arrest of Los Banos auto theft suspect
A Los Banos man who led police administrators on a high-speed car chase a year ago has been arrested again on suspicion of auto theft.
This time, he couldn’t run.
Shawn Matthew Nordgreen, 34, was in custody Thursday at the John Latorraca Correctional Facility pending $185,000 bond on three counts of auto theft, possession of stolen property, burglary and falsifying vehicle registration, according to a statement by the Los Banos Police Department.
According to the statement, detectives served an auto-theft search warrant at a home in the 1400 block of South 10th Street.
The detectives recovered vehicle components related to three vehicles reported stolen in June and year tabs reported stolen from license plates in the Dos Palos area, the statement said.
An air compressor that was reported stolen in a May 31 residential burglary in the 600 block of F Street was also recovered.
Detectives arrested Nordgreen as they searched the residence Wednesday.
Nordgreen has a lengthy history of speeding, according to Merced Superior Court records.
He also was part of a two-man team that led Los Banos police Chief Gary Brizzee, Acting Chief Ray Reyna and Commander Jason Hedden on a 3-mile car chase almost a year ago.
On July 7 last year, the three police administrators responded to a report of a carjacking on Badger Flat Road near a Central California Irrigation District canal.
They tracked the suspects, Nordgreen and 25-year-old Cody Ryan Monk, who were driving a black Honda reported stolen in Hollister, records show. The two led police on a high-speed chase for 3 miles before jumping out of the car in Volta.
Both men were arrested after the car chase on suspicion of carjacking, robbery, conspiracy to commit a crime, evading peace officers, reckless driving, obstructing or resisting a public officer and vehicle theft.
Nordgreen’s latest arrest is a part of the Police Department’s increased focus on cracking down on vehicle theft.
According to a 2015 report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau, four of the top 10 municipalities with the highest rates of vehicle theft in the nation are in the Central Valley.
On June 16, the Police Department gave out steering wheel locks to residents, especially those with vehicles at higher risk of theft. The devices were purchased locally using a U.S. Department of Justice grant.
This story was originally published June 30, 2016 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Search warrant leads to arrest of Los Banos auto theft suspect."