Murry Park suspects caught
CORRECTION
EDITOR’S NOTE: You don’t like mistakes and neither do we. It is the policy of The Recorder to correct substantive errors in a timely manner. To that end: The article that ran Monday, June 24, stated that a chid was struck by a vehicle in Murry Park, according to eye witness statements. This was incorrect. The child was missed by the vehicle, and sustained no injuries. To report an error, contact the Editor at 559784-5000 Ext. 1048. On Sunday, June 23, at about 11:13 a.m., an officer of the Porterville Police Department (PPD) observed a vehicle reported stolen to the Visalia Police Department parked on the south side of Murry Park. As the officer attempted to detain two occupants of the stolen vehicle, the male driver, later identified as Esaias Bateman, sped away recklessly through the park, and narrowly missed a 6-year-old disabled child walking with other family members. The officer was not able to initiate a pursuit with the stolen vehicle, and initially thought the stolen vehicle struck the child, therefore she remained at the scene to render medical aid while requesting assistance from other officers. The 6-year-old child was determined to have not been struck by the stolen vehicle and did not sustain any injuries.
Moments later, assisting officers located the stolen vehicle abandoned in the 300 block of North Murry Street where an extensive search ensued. With the assistance of the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department, officers located the female passenger, identified as Olivia Zisumbo, hiding in a nearby backyard. She was found to be on probation and under the influence of a controlled substance, and was later booked into the Tulare County Jail where she is being held in lieu of $35,000 bail. Efforts to locate Bateman at the time were unsuccessful.
On Tuesday, June 25, at about 7:40 a.m., Bateman was located by members of the Tulare County Reduce Auto Theft Task Force (TRATT) in the Wood
lake area inside another stolen vehicle. Bateman was arrested after a brief struggle and later booked into the Tulare County Jail where he is being held on several active cases from the Tulare county Sheriff’s Department, Exeter Police Department, Woodlake Police Department and Porterville Police Department. He is currently being held in lieu of $185,000 bail.