On Wednesday, February 15th, 2023, at 7:23 pm, the Turlock Police Department was dispatched to a reported suspicious person at Ross, 2405 Geer Rd, Turlock, who was walking back and forth inside the store with a gun possibly seen in his waistband.

While officers were responding, they were informed that the man was associated with a woman as well as a white Chevrolet Malibu that was parked in a handicap stall in front of the business.

When officers arrived on scene, they located the Malibu and had their dispatcher run it. They discovered that it belonged to a known probationer.

Officers then noticed Justinn Casaday, 29, of Turlock, in front of the business. He matched their suspect description, so they attempted to contact him. When they did, Casaday took off running with a handgun seen and a foot pursuit ensued.

Casaday ran to the east side of the parking lot, around Little Caesars and Yogurt Mill, and then back westbound towards Save Mart. Casaday then exited the parking lot onto W Minnesota Ave and began running westbound on the sidewalk, however, eventually gave up and surrendered across the street from Cherry Tree Village. He was taken into custody without further incident, however,  the gun that he had been seen with was no longer on him.

A minute later, a Yogurt Mill employee called to report that Casaday had dropped the gun in a flower pot outside their business and that she was guarding it from some kids who were getting close to it. Officers responded and recovered the gun, a .22 caliber.

During a search of Casaday’s person incident to arrest, officers located narcotics.

After the foot pursuit, the woman on probation who Casaday was with was located still inside Ross. She was detained, however, released a few minutes later after it had been determined that she had not committed any crimes.

Casaday was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon or person addicted to a narcotic, possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, possession of a controlled substance while armed, carrying a concealed firearm, and obstructing or resisting a public officer in the discharge of their duty.