MODESTO, CA - Modesto police credit the city's downtown camera system for solving a brutal and violent crime early Sunday morning.
"Without a doubt, this would be an unsolved crime without those cameras. In addition to that, who knows how long that lady would have laid in that parking lot bleeding," said Modesto police Captain Mike Harris.
He was referring to the severe beating of a woman after she left a downtown nightclub. An officer saw the beating and directed officers to the scene, who quickly made arrests.
"It really is shocking when you see the video. A pretty defenseless female appeared to have been intoxicated. It's excessively violent. It turns your stomach when you see the video," said Harris.
Another woman was found in the car of the suspects, and police said she was the victim of sexual assault.
"They found a female victim inside, without the bottom half of her clothing. Officers didn't know she was in there until they pulled them over," said Harris.
Modesto's downtown camera system is about a year old. Sunday's attack is the most serious crime photographed in that time.
The suspects are documented gang members and were identified as Ruben Moreno, 23; Ricardo Garcia, 21; Emmanual Alvarez, 21; and Felix Rangel, 21.
By tdaly@news10.net
News10/KXTV