Instead of getting off with a citation, Avila went to jail for driving a stolen vehicle, said sheriff's Detective Scott Dover.
Avila was stopped around 11 a.m. in the 6000 block of Cypress Avenue on Thursday when the detective saw him run a stop sign while westbound on Walnut Avenue. He also was driving an ATV -- prohibited from being operated on a public road.
He was arrested after a check of the ATV showed it was stolen in Ceres on May 30. He reportedly told the detective that his cousin had bought the ATV for $900.
Avila was booked into Merced County Jail on suspicion of possession of stolen property and held on $10,000 bail, according to a jail official.
-- Mike De La Cruz
