A man and woman from Monterey County were arrested in Santa Rosa on Saturday after they were reported to have been looting, police said.
The individuals’ suspicious activity was first reported around 6 p.m. after residents saw them carrying a flat-screen TV out of a burnt apartment at 200 Bicentennial Way, Santa Rosa police said in a press release.
The area is within the fire hazard severity zone declared by Cal Fire, where officials are still working to determine whether it is safe for some residents to return to the area.
Police were able to determine that the license plate of the Ford truck they were loading with items had been stolen from a car in Rohnert Park on Friday, while the vehicle itself was reported stolen on Monday, Oct. 23, in the Monterey area.
When officers arrived at the apartment complex, the pickup was driving away from the area. Officials caught up with the vehicle as it waited in line at a roadblock being policed by the California National Guard at Round Barn Circle, according to the police statement.
The Ford allegedly swerved out the queue and drove over a center median to flee at a high rate of speed.
The truck reached speeds of about 70 mph and it maneuvered through the area, and officers terminated the pursuit “due to the suspect’s wanton disregard for the public’s safety,” the release states.
Authorities continued to patrol the area after losing sight of the pickup. Soon, a resident on Belair Way reported two people who had just parked their Ford truck in the neighborhood and ran away, police said.
The vehicle was soon located and officers recovered a TV and several other stolen items from its bed, officials said.
After searching creekbeds near the neighborhood, authorities located two people who were jumping fences and stopped them at Royal Oak Court.
Sean Kranyak, a 29-year-old Monterey resident, and 22-year-old Christina Marsh of Marina were both taken into custody, police said. Additional items that officials suspect were stolen were also located in their possession.
Neither Kranyak nor Marsh has any known ties to Sonoma County, authorities said.
Both were arrested on suspicion of reckless evading, conspiracy, looting, possession of stolen property, vehicle theft, receiving stolen property and possession of burglary tools.
Also on Saturday, an official day of remembrance declared by Gov. Jerry Brown was observed in honor of the 42 people who perished in the region’s wildfires this month. More than a thousand people gathered at Santa Rosa Junior College to mark the day.