Suspect broke into his mom’s house. Then he pulled in front of the wrong guy

A 19-year-old Turlock man broke into his mother’s Atwater home Wednesday night with two of his friends, the Atwater Police Department reported.

According to police, Jeraime Hoover, 19, of Turlock and Andres Ibarra and Angel Garcia, both 18 and of Modesto, then got into a getaway car and were heading up Shaffer Road when their luck ran out.

They pulled in front of an off-duty police officer who was heading home moments after the description of their getaway car was broadcast over police scanners.

All three were arrested on suspicion of residential burglary and conspiracy.

It wasn’t clear exactly what may have been taken from the home in the 100 block of Ocean Court just before 6 p.m. Wednesday. Officers found guns outside of the home and suspect the firearms were the target of the burglary, though the investigation is ongoing, according to Police Chief Samuel Joseph.

Neighbors told investigators three men arrived in a green Honda and entered the home after going through the backyard fence. The men left the scene before police arrived, but a neighbor jotted down the car’s license plate number, police said.

The car’s description and plate number were then called out on the radio, police said. Officer Scott Duncan had just gotten off of his shift and headed home, driving north on Shaffer Road.

Hearing the description on the radio, Duncan was “amazed” to find the car traveling north right in front of him, police said. So, he radioed the location of the car to other officers, Joseph said.

Several Atwater police officers and two Merced County Sheriff’s deputies caught up to the off-duty officer and the suspect’s car. Officers stopped the vehicle on East Avenue near Santa Fe Drive.

Police later confirmed Hoover’s mother lives at the home on Ocean Court.

All three men remain in custody at the John Latoracca Correctional Facility, according to jail records, in lieu of $100,000 in bail each.

This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Suspect broke into his mom’s house. Then he pulled in front of the wrong guy."