A Modesto trio picked the wrong time to try and stage a brazen break-in at Home Depot.

On Christmas Day, Manteca police officer Dale Goforth was writing reports in the empty parking lot of the home improvement store when he heard the alarm go off. Goforth drove around to the back of the building to investigate, and spotted a green Honda parked near the back doors and drove up to see why it was there.

That’s when 36-year-old Lance Sanchez walked through the door with a shopping cart full of cordless power tools and directly into a pair of felony charges.

While Goforth was ordering Sanchez to the ground and placing him in handcuffs, a second man walked through the door with another shopping cart full of cordless power tools. The officer ordered him to the ground, but the man fled through another door.

Additional officers arrived on scene and attempted to setup a perimeter. It’s believed that the man jumped into a second car – a gold Honda – and fled southbound on Highway 99 towards Modesto.

The recovered tools were valued at more than $4,000.

Officers arrested Sanchez, a Modesto resident, and Delores Garza, a 48-year-old Modesto resident. Both will be charged with felony burglary and conspiracy to commit a felony.

They believe that the man who fled was 47-year-old Modesto resident David Avina. Detectives already have an arrest warrant, and are making attempts at locating him.