On Thursday, November 10th, 2022, at 1:53 pm, the Turlock Police Department was dispatched to a reported larceny that had just occurred at Big 5 Sporting Goods, 599 N Golden State Blvd, Turlock, after a man had walked out of the business with three unpaid tents.
Officers arrived in the area a short time later and located a man with a tent on E Olive Ave near N First St. They made contact with him and determined that the tent he was in possession of was indeed one of the three that were stolen from the business, however, he was not the man who had actually stolen it. They recovered the tent and he was released.
Other officers located and made contact with another man who had two tents near Cost Less Food Company, 255 W Main St. He was identified as Michael Tates, 44, of Turlock, and through investigation, was determined to indeed be the man who had stolen all three tents.
Tates was arrested and released on a citation on charges of petty theft.
