On Wednesday, February 8th, 2023, at 12:12 pm, the Turlock Police Department was dispatched to a reported suspicious person at Lowe’s, 3303 Entertainment Way, Turlock, after two known shoplifters had been spotted inside the business loading up shopping carts.

While officers were responding, they were updated that two had exited the business with unpaid merchandise and were fleeing the area in a vehicle westbound on W Monte Vista Ave.

A responding officer spotted the vehicle and made a traffic stop on it underneath the State Route 99 overpass.

Additional officers arrived and three subjects were contacted inside the vehicle, they were identified as Carl Goodman, 41, of Modesto, Primitivo Gratton, 39, of Fresno, and Bethanie Smith, 38, of Modesto.

When officers had their dispatcher run the three, they discovered that Goodman had a $2,000 local misdemeanor warrant of arrest for shoplifting, Gratton had a $10,000 misdemeanor bench warrant out of Tuolumne County for possession of drug paraphernalia, and Smith was on parole for assault with a firearm.

Due to Smith’s parole status, a search of the vehicle was conducted which led to the discovery of narcotics and power tools that had just been stolen from a different business less than an hour prior.

Goodman, Gratton, and Smith were all arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on charges of conspiracy and theft, as well as their warrants. Additionally, Smith was charged with possession of methamphetamines, possession of drug paraphernalia, and violation of parole.