Full Notification

Modesto, CA- Modesto Police detectives have linked three suspects to a series of commercial burglaries. The suspects targeted Laundromat businesses across Stanislaus County.

To date, Modesto Police detectives have linked the three suspects, Jaime Javier Chavez, a 23-year-old Modesto resident, Pen Chan, a 29-year-old Modesto resident, and a 13-year-old male Ceres resident, to three separate Laundromat commercial burglaries in Modesto.

The burglaries occurred on May 26th at the Birdies Wash & Dry Laundromat located at 1604 Tully Road, and on June 7th and June 21st at the Launderland located at 1511 Yosemite Boulevard. Modesto detectives are working with investigators from Ceres Police, Turlock Police, and the Stanislaus County and Merced County Sheriff’s Office for additional cases in those jurisdictions.

The suspects would enter the Laundromat businesses and break into the coin machines of each of the washers and dryers and stealing change. Oftentimes the thieves caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to the machines and would be rewarded with little change in return.

Many of the businesses were able to capture the crimes on their surveillance cameras. The videos have proven to be very beneficial in identifying and linking the suspects to these crimes.

Chavez, Chan, and the 13-year-old male juvenile were all charged with three counts of burglary, conspiracy, and felony vandalism. Additional charges may be added to each of the suspects as the investigation continues.

If you have any information on this case, please call Crime Stoppers @ (209) 572-9543. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward. Tipsters can also text information to Crime Stoppers by sending a text message to 274637. Just type “TIP704” along with your message.

For information about this news release, contact police spokesman Sergeant Rick Armendariz at (209) 652-1820.