Fresno police call off search for suspect in Save Mart grocery store after 20 hours

Fresno police have called off a search for a man investigators said barricaded himself overnight in a Fresno grocery store.

Around 4 p.m. Friday, police Chief Paco Balderrama said officers were calling off the search, roughly 20 hours after police were first called to the scene at the Save Mart at First and Nees avenues.

Police have not released the identity of the man they believe was in the store.

It started outside the Macy’s at River Park around 7 p.m. Thursday when an off-duty deputy saw a car matching the description of one allegedly used in a prior crime.

The deputy contacted the sheriff’s office and guided on-duty deputies to the scene where the car was parked.

The department had recently distributed a description of the car and suspects involved in an unsolved home burglary in which guns were taken.

Three people matching those descriptions came out of the Macy’s and got into the car. When ordered by the off-duty deputy to stop, a man and a woman got out and ran back in while the driver remained. The two who fled were taken into custody in Macy’s by a deputy.

Outside, the deputy attempted to get the driver to stop the car, but the suspect began ramming vehicles and the deputy fired. It’s not known how many shots the deputy fired but at least one bullet struck the suspect’s front window on the driver’s side.

The suspect escaped and fled to the Save Mart at First and Nees, about 1 1/2 miles from the Macy’s.

Authorities believed the suspect was by himself in the store after employees and customers eventually fled. It was not known if the suspect was armed, though law enforcement was treating the situation as if he were.

This story was originally published May 20, 2022 at 4:15 PM.