Two men arrested after south Merced vehicle pursuit, police say

Two men were arrested Friday evening after a vehicle pursuit with officers in south Merced, police said.

Suspects Cristian Venegas and Rafael Francisco, both 21, were taken into custody. Police have said Francisco was the driver, while Venegas was the passenger.

Officer Steven Odom and Sgt. Joseph Perez tried to stop the suspects’ vehicle at 5:47 p.m. near M and 11th streets, according to a Merced police news release.

The suspects sped off and officers pursued the vehicle, which stopped at the railroad tracks in the 1500 block of Canal Street.

Venegas exited the vehicle and fled on foot, only to be captured by Sgt. Perez. Venegas was found to be possessing two stolen handguns.

Francisco drove off and Officer Odom continued the pursuit. Francisco stopped at 14th and Martin Luther King Jr. Way and was arrested, the release said.

“It is important to get guns out of the hands of gang members because you can’t quantify how many lives it just saved,” Odom said in the release.

Venegas and Francisco were booked on suspicion of being gang members in possession of a firearm, possession of stolen property and gang enhancements. Francisco was also booked for several vehicle code violations including felony evading in a vehicle.