He left the hardware store, climbed into his car and then smashed into 5 other cars

A man who was acting erratically and believed to be on methamphetamine was arrested Sunday afternoon after smashing into five cars in a parking lot and resisting arrest, according to Fresno police Lt. Joe Gomez.

Francisco Vega, 32, allegedly entered Fresno Ag Hardware on Gettysburg and First avenues and tried to purchase items sometime Sunday afternoon. He was worrying customers and employees with his outbursts, and when his card didn’t go through, he took items from the store, Gomez said.

Loss prevention employee John Melikian said he followed Vega to his car, and Vega went back in to buy the items.

At 2:45 p.m., Melikian followed Vega into the parking lot again and tried to stop him from leaving, but Vega locked his Dodge Neon and pulled out of the parking lot, smashing six cars, including Melikian’s, on the way out.

An officer on a different call nearby happened to see Vega driving on Gettysburg and tried to pull him over, Gomez said, but he didn’t stop.

Vega made a U-turn at Gettysburg Avenue, pulled into a gas station and got out of the car. It took five officers to hold Vega down, and although he was not injured, he was taken away in an ambulance because he was being combative.

Back across the street at Fresno Ag Hardware, half a dozen people waited for police reports to be taken on their cars, some just scratched and others smashed in.

Melikian said Vega smashed into his car twice, moving it a whole parking spot.

He added that although Vega eventually paid for his items, he could tell he was in no shape to drive.

“Sir, you need to call down,” Melikian said he told Vega as he got in his car. “I need to get your keys. You’re not right to drive right now.”

But Vega did drive away. “As he was getting back in his car, I reached for his keys but he was already in,” Melikian said.

Vega will be booked into the Fresno County Jail on suspicion of hit and run, theft, resisting arrest and possibly for being under the influence of meth, Gomez said.

This story was originally published February 18, 2018 at 5:18 PM with the headline "He left the hardware store, climbed into his car and then smashed into 5 other cars."