A 35-year-old man is facing a stack of felony charges after allegedly ramming a marked Ceres police vehicle, leading deputies on a pursuit that topped 90 mph, and then bailing out of a stolen Chevrolet Camaro to run into a nearby home. Robert Edmonson was ultimately taken into custody with help from a sheriff's patrol dog, and his bail has been set at $305,000.
According to the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office, deputies attempted to stop Edmonson after locating the stolen Camaro in Ceres. Instead of pulling over, Edmonson allegedly rammed a marked Ceres police vehicle and fled, kicking off a pursuit that reached speeds exceeding 90 mph before it came to a violent end near Whitmore Avenue and Third Street. That intersection sits close to Ceres City Hall and the city's main fire station, according to background from the City of Ceres.
Deputies say Edmonson rear-ended another vehicle stopped at a red light before abandoning the Camaro and fleeing on foot into a nearby residence. Rather than pursue him inside, deputies established a perimeter around the home. That decision reflects broader guidance from California Peace Officer Standards and Training, which encourages agencies to weigh pursuit risks against public safety and shift toward containment and canine deployment when a suspect's driving turns extremely dangerous in residential areas.
K9 Sulley Tracks Down the Suspect
With the perimeter in place, deputies brought in K9 Sulley to locate Edmonson inside the residence, and he was taken into custody without further incident. The same patrol dog previously helped deputies apprehend a non-compliant suspect found in a stolen vehicle in Salida in June, per reporting from Central Valley News. Edmonson now faces charges including vehicle theft, receiving a stolen vehicle, felony evading, assault on a peace officer, and hit-and-run causing injury, with bail set at $305,000.
The charges carry real weight under California law. Ramming a marked patrol car while fleeing can trigger a felony assault-on-a-peace-officer charge under Penal Code 245(c), which carries a potential state prison sentence of three, four, or five years, according to Eisner Gorin LLP. Separately, fleeing law enforcement with lights and sirens active while driving with willful disregard for safety qualifies as felony reckless evading under Vehicle Code 2800.2, punishable by up to three years in state prison and fines as high as $10,000, per Kolacia Law.
Two Separate Vehicle Charges Explained
Edmonson's dual vehicle-related charges also reflect a distinction built into California law. Taking a vehicle without consent falls under Vehicle Code 10851, while knowingly possessing or concealing a stolen vehicle — regardless of who originally stole it — is a separate offense under Penal Code 496d, according to the Shouse Law Group. That legal split explains why Edmonson faces both a vehicle theft charge and a receiving-a-stolen-vehicle charge stemming from the same Camaro.
It is not yet known whether the driver rear-ended near Whitmore Avenue and Third Street suffered serious injuries, nor has the specific ownership history of the stolen Camaro been disclosed. It also remains unclear whether the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office has formally filed charges ahead of Edmonson's initial court appearance.
A Region With a Long Auto Theft Problem
The case lands in a county with a well-documented vehicle theft history. The Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area, which covers all of Stanislaus County including Ceres, once ranked first in the nation for per-capita motor vehicle theft in 2015, according to National Insurance Crime Bureau data cited by the Insurance Information Institute. To combat ongoing stolen vehicle crimes, local agencies coordinate through the Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force, known as StanCATT, which combines local police departments, the Sheriff's Office, and the California Highway Patrol, per the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators.
This is far from the first time Ceres-area law enforcement has ended a stolen vehicle pursuit with a canine apprehension. In June 2025, officers deployed K9 Fiona after an hour-long standoff near Magnolia Avenue, and back in January 2025, Ceres Police and Stanislaus County Sheriff's deputies jointly used stop sticks and a PIT maneuver before sending in a canine unit to catch a fleeing suspect on rural Ceres roads. Just three weeks ago, Hoodline reported on a separate Stanislaus County pursuit in which an Oakland man hit 85 mph and drove into oncoming traffic before a K9 unit brought the chase to an end.
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