On Saturday, May 20th, 2023, at 8:18 am, a Turlock Police officer near Safeway, 3051 Countryside Dr, Turlock, observed a man run across the street appearing to try to avoid him, so he began watching him.

The officer watched the man, later identified as Tyler McEver, 33, of Dos Palos, attempt to hide the items he was carrying by the Safeway gas station pumps and begin to walk away from them.

McEver was contacted in front of Safeway and detained in handcuffs.

An assisting officer located the items that McEver had attempted to hide, including an axe.

The original officer suspected that the items had been stolen from The Home Depot, so he had his dispatcher call the business and check. The business stated that they did just have a shoplifting incident where an axe had been taken.

Upon further investigation, officers determined that a robbery had actually occurred because the suspect had used the axe he was stealing in a threatening manner to instill fear and assist in his escape.

A witness was brought to McEver and was able to positively identify him as the suspect.

McEver was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on charges of robbery and theft.