Crime Briefs

South Lake Tahoe

Carjacked squash results in arrest

(Appeal News Service) - Instead of junk in the trunk, authorities spotted three stolen pumpkins in a car driven by a man suspected of drunken driving, a South Lake Tahoe police officer said.

A 30-year-old South Lake Tahoe man reportedly took the three pumpkins from Safeway on Friday afternoon before stealing Halloween decorations from Rite Aid, according to police Sgt. Dave Stevenson.

The man was stopped when officers spotted the pumpkins in the car's trunk, with the trunk lid open exposing the squash.

"They were big ... The pumpkins were too big the trunk wouldn't close," Stevenson said.

Another sign of the season occurred about a week before the failed pumpkin heist when youths were caught smashing pumpkins in front of the Cork & More. Under the eye of police, the youths picked up the orange squash scraps.

Man wanted in Tahoe bank robbery caught in Jackson, Calif.

(Appeal News Service) - A man on the Sacramento FBI's Most Wanted List suspected of robbing six banks, including one in South Lake Tahoe in September 2005, was arrested in Jackson following a high-speed chase with Calaveras County sheriff's deputies, according to authorities.

Joe Luis Resendez, a 38-year-old from Oakdale, was chased by authorities after allegedly robbing a bank in Calaveras County's Valley Springs and fleeing in a white Dodge Magnum, authorities said.

A spike strip laid in Jackson ended the Sept. 28 chase, which reportedly had speeds up to 95 mph, according to media reports provided to the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

Resendez was booked into Calaveras County Jail without bail on suspicion of robbery and felony evading arrest.

Resendez is suspected of robbing El Dorado Savings Bank along Al Tahoe Boulevard in September 2005 along with banks in San Andreas and Sonora.

The mustached man who robbed El Dorado Savings Bank was heavyset and wore sunglasses and a hat. He ordered a teller to put money into a brown paper bag and left.