Local News

Commercial Burglary Results in Multiple Felony Arrests

MADERA - On Sunday, shortly before 5 a.m., the Madera County Sheriff's Office received a call for service for an alarm at Pedal Forward Bikes & Adventure, located in the 40000 block of Highway 41 in Oakhurst. The alarm company reported two males with their faces covered inside the store stealing bicycles and loading them into a white van. Sergeant Hernandez arrived within 5 minutes and confirmed a burglary had occurred, but the van was nowhere in sight.

Deputy Eichman was in the Coarsegold area and noticed a white Ford E-350 van pass him as it was traveling southbound on Highway 41. When he attempted to initiate a traffic stop, the van failed to yield and led Deputies on an 11-mile pursuit. After Deputy Cox successfully deployed spike strips at Highway 41 and Highway 145, the van continued driving with flat tires, ultimately crashing into the barrier near the Madera Canal south of Avenue 15.

Four suspects fled the van and ran in separate directions. As additional Deputies arrived in the area, they quickly apprehended and arrested three of the suspects, later identified as 62-year-old Orlan Doser, 58-year-old Earwin McCullar, and 57-year-old Manuel Tejeda, all of Fresno.

After booking the first three suspects, Deputy Cox returned to the area and located the fourth and last outstanding suspect, 27-year-old Isaac Alvarez of Fresno. Deputies recovered 8 bicycles inside the van that were confirmed stolen from Pedal Forward Bikes & Adventure and returned them to the owner. The bicycles were valued at a combined total of over $20,000.

MADNet officers arrested a fifth suspect, who they claimed was the operation's mastermind, on October 3rd. A man named Eddie was identified as the organizer of the burglary operation. He was observed on video driving a red Lincoln MKX leading the white van into and out of Oakhurst. Madera Special Enforcement Team (MADSET) took over the investigation, and was able to link Edward Malagon of Fresno to a red Lincoln MKX matching the vehicle seen in surveillance footage.

On October 3, 2024, the Madera Narcotics Enforcement Team (MADNET) located the suspect vehicle parked in the driveway of a residence associated with Malagon in the 5400 block of E. Lane Avenue in Fresno. Around 1:00 pm, detectives took Malagon into custody without incident and booked him into the Madera County Jail on felony charges of burglary and conspiracy.

One of the suspects, Manuel Tejeda, wore an XPO Logistics polo shirt in his booking photo. XPO Logistics is a general freight carrier that delivers large items like bicycles to retail locations. Galo General Installations Inc. is a local affiliate of XPO. Big Valley News has contacted the owner of Galo General, Elias Galo, for a comment, who has not returned our email.

Sheriff Tyson Pogue states, “This was a great collaborative team effort between Deputies from the East County Mountain and Valley divisions. I applaud our team’s efforts in resolving this incident safely and successfully. “I commend the diligent efforts of our team to investigate this case and apprehend all suspects involved thoroughly. Let this be an unmistakable reminder to all that we take a strong stand against criminal activity in Madera County.”