(KMJ) – The suspect who held up multiple agencies including SWAT since Thursday at a Save Mart grocery store in Northeast Fresno is arrested after falling from the store’s ceiling.
Fresno Police responded again to the Save Mart on First and Nees Avenues Saturday around 2 p.m. after a call came in about a man who fell from a crawl space ceiling, into an aisle and took off running.
Officers in the area were able to locate 28-year-old Pheng Vang as he ran towards an apartment complex in the area. He was arrested without any further incident.
Detectives say there were undercover officers placed inside and outside the grocery store but were called off on Friday night following the nearly 21-hour search.
Vang was not armed during the arrest, but police say they will continue to search the store ceiling for any possible weapon. He was already on a parole violation for prior incidents and is now facing additional felony charges for evading police.
He was booked into the Fresno County Jail on four charges and has a bail of $35,000. Veng faces charges of evading police, possession of stolen property, vandalism to Save Mart and hit and run property damage for striking multiple vehicles escaping the Macy’s parking lot.
Deputies found property inside Vang’s car that was stolen during the Caruthers burglary. No guns were recovered. The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office Spokesman Tony Botti said they believe a man and woman assisted Vang during the burglary and they are asking for the public’s assistance to identify and locate them. These are not the two people detained inside Macy’s, they were released after detectives determined they are not tied to our criminal investigation.
Botti said “One inaccurate statement I have seen published is that our off-duty deputy fired shots. It was a different deputy, who was on-duty, who fired shots.”
Fresno Police is in charge of the deputy involved shooting investigation.
