Full Notification

Modesto, CA -

On Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at about 1:40 a.m., the Texaco gas station located at 937 Paradise Road in Modesto was robbed at gunpoint by four armed, masked assailants.  

An undisclosed amount of cash was taken from the convenience store employee in the process. The suspects then fled the scene in a dark-colored, large lifted pickup truck.  

One of our alert patrol deputies later observed a similar-looking truck driving in the area of Chicago and Sutter Avenues.  They were able to call for backup additional resources, conducted a high-risk traffic enforcement stop, and safely detained all four occupants to further the investigation.  

The men were later identified as follows: Ernest Dubose, 21, Isiah Beard, 19, Sebastian Gutierrez, 19, and Antony Sandoval, 22.  All had connection to the Central Valley Modesto area, while one of them had ties to Oakland, CA.   

Through interview and interrogation, deputies learned the suspects had discarded the firearm used in the robbery into a nearby drainage ditch.  Firefighters were able to help law enforcement retrieve the weapon by clearing out the standing water and vacuuming it back up to the street-level.  

The recovered weapon was a “ghost” firearm with no discerning serial number and an affixed, illegal extended ammunition magazine.  

All four men are awaiting booking into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on robbery and other various weapons charges.  

Investigators will be assisting with acquiring appropriate bail enhancements. They will also be looking into any and all possible connections to other recent robberies in incorporated and unincorporated portions of Modesto.  

Each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.