Man Arrested for Negligent Discharge of Firearm 

December 5, 2024 – Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office officials report that on December 3, 2024, at about 6:30 a.m., a male called 911, saying someone had broken into his home in the 900 block of Herndon Ave. in Ceres. Deputies arrived on the scene and heard several shots being fired from inside the house, but no other sounds followed. Deputies surrounded the home while SWAT and the Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) were enroute to the scene. Multiple attempts were made to contact residents inside the house but were unsuccessful.  At about 7:45 a.m., after multiple loudspeaker announcements, a Hispanic male opened the front door. He was holding a handgun but immediately dropped it, followed commands to walk toward deputies, and was detained.

SWAT arrived and conducted a security sweep of the home to check for anyone injured but found no victims inside. A neighboring home did get struck by some of the rounds that were fired, but thankfully, no one in the house was hurt.

The male said he lived in the home and was identified as 18-year-old David Ayala. During the investigation, no evidence was found indicating that Ayala was shooting at deputies. While being interviewed, Ayala said he used illegal drugs about one hour before making the 911 call.

Ayala was arrested for willfully and negligently discharging a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, and carrying a loaded handgun that was not registered to him.

Source & photo: Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office