Posted: 6/30/2004 10:42:39 AM EDT
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Police shoot serial robbery suspect By KRISTINA SEWARD BEE STAFF WRITER Last Updated: June 30, 2004, 06:39:28 AM PDT Modesto police shot and wounded a suspected armed robber just before 10 p.m. Tuesday in a residential neighborhood east of Memorial Medical Center, a police spokesman said. "The suspect confronted officers in a way that they felt threatened enough to use deadly force," Detective Doug Ridenour said at the scene. He said the man, Michael Joseph Bradford, 22, of Modesto, took at least one shot to the chest area; hospital officials gave his condition as stable. The shooting occurred in a back yard on Fairfax Avenue between Manzanita and Devlin drives. Ridenour said Bradford is suspected in seven holdups in Modesto and Riverbank since June 9. Police had posted a $1,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. Ridenour said officers had Bradford under surveillance, and a chase began when police attempted to stop him for traffic violations on Oakdale Road. The pursuit wound its way to Manzanita Drive, going south toward Lancey Drive. Then Bradford made a U-turn, returned to Manzanita and Fairfax, and stopped. Robert Lincoln, 21, who lives there, said: "I came out of my house and saw the car pass by and the cops chasing him. They went down (the street), flipped a U-turn, and then the three guys bailed." Ridenour said Bradford was the only person in the car. He ran and officers went after him, following him over backyard fences. Neighbors said they heard anywhere from a half-dozen to 20 shots. Ridenour said he did not know yet if Bradford had a weapon. The detective did not give details on Bradford's actions that officers perceived as threatening. In posting the reward June 22, a police lieutenant said no one had been hurt in the string of holdups, "but we need to identify the suspect and arrest him before someone gets hurt." Six robberies occurred in Modesto: Tropics Motel, 936 McHenry Ave., June 9; Mr. T's Donut Shop, 3507 Tully Road, June 11; Taco Bell, 1741 Standiford Ave., June 14; Pizza Hut, 2001 McHenry Ave., June 16; Video King, 801 Oakdale Road, June 18; and 7-Eleven, 1045 Oakdale Road, June 19. The seventh occurred at Blockbuster Video in Riverbank. |