An early morning call to dispatchers from a curious passerby led to the arrest of an Antelope man on multiple felony charges.
Officers quickly responded to Cascade Falls Drive in the American River Canyon North community of Folsom after a neighbor heading to work saw a suspicious subject driving through their neighborhood. After a second neighbor reported the same vehicle, officers were able to locate it, unoccupied, parked between two residences.
An officer patiently watched the vehicle until the subject exited the side yard of a home and placed items into his sports utility. A tense moment ensued as the subject fidgeted around in the driver’s compartment of his vehicle before eventually complying with the officer’s orders. It was later determined the suspect was unloading a .22 caliber Berretta pistol, for which he carrying two loaded magazines in a cell phone pouch on his belt.
After a thorough investigation which included investigators from the Criminal Investigations Bureau, Vadim Zhurko, age 29, of Antelope was arrested. Officers discovered the vehicle Zhurko was driving had been stolen several days prior in Carmichael. The handgun he possessed was recently stolen during a burglary in Napa, and additional stolen property from Manteca, Lodi, South Sacramento, Downtown, West Sacramento, and Dixon was located.
Zhurko, who was out on bail for a July arrest by Roseville Police for possessing and transporting controlled substances while driving a stolen vehicle, was booked into the Sacramento County Jail on charges of Burglary, Grand Theft, Committing a Felony while on Bail, Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony, Vehicle Theft, and Possession of Controlled Substances.
The arrest of Zhurko came weeks after the Folsom Police Department sent a citywide “Reverse 911” message to residents and businesses alerting them to a recent rise in burglaries. The citizen who alerted police to Zhurko’s suspiciousness confirmed he was a recipient of one of those calls.
