A man accused of stealing mail in northeast Bakersfield, leading officers on a pursuit, was arrested Tuesday morning after getting caught by a K-9 officer.

According to the Bakersfield Police Department, on December 6th, 2022, at around 3:47 a.m., officers responded to a report of a community mailbox theft in the 4200 block of Boise Street.

Responding officers found a car driven by 29-year-old Raymond Ceja of Bakersfield, leaving the area.

Bakersfield police said Ceja failed to pull over to officers and led them on a vehicle pursuit, before abandoning the vehicle in the 3300 block of Dartmouth Street.

Police said a large amount of stolen mail was found in the vehicle, along with drugs and burglary tools.

Ceja was taken into custody with the help of a police K-9, after he was found hiding in a residential backyard.

He was transported to an area hospital for treatment and then booked into the Kern County Jail for felony evading, resisting a police officer, possession of narcotics paraphernalia, commission of mail theft, possession of burglary tools, two unrelated felony arrest warrants, and two unrelated misdemeanor arrest warrants.