Full Notification

On 04-13-2016, at approximately 9:16 pm, officers were dispatched to Ripon Save Mart (1453 W. Goodwin Dr.) regarding a suspicious person call.

Upon arrival, store personnel pointed out two suspicious people loitering inside the store. A store employee recognized one of the subjects because he reportedly passed fraudulent checks there in the past.

The reporting party also said they recognized both of the subjects from a previous Manteca Police Department Facebook post, where they were reportedly using a stolen credit card at the Manteca Target store.

Ripon officers contacted the two suspects. They were both found to be on searchable probation. One of the suspects was in possession of drug paraphernalia. A probation search of the suspects vehicle was conducted. Stolen property from a number of vehicle and residential burglaries was located. Ripon detectives have identified a number of theft victims as part of their ongoing investigation.

Gilliam Joy Stephens (39) of Salida was booked into the San Joaquin County Jail on charges that included: Conspiracy, making or passing fictitious checks, unauthorized use of personal identification, receiving known stolen property, felon in possession of a stun gun and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Dwayne Alton Sterling (42) of Modesto was booked into the San Joaquin County Jail on charges that included: Conspiracy, making or passing fictitious checks, unauthorized use of personal identification and receiving known stolen property.

Ripon Police Department spokesperson, Lt. Steve Merchant praised both the Ripon Save Mart employees for quickly calling the police when they spotted suspicious activity and the Manteca Police Department for their adroit use of social media to identify these suspects.

PIO-Lieutenant Steve Merchant Ripon Police Department 259 N. Wilma Ave. Ripon, CA 95366 209-599-2102 Business 209-599-0262 Desk 209-599-4034 FAX [email protected]