A woman arrested after an elderly woman told bank employees in Ceres that she had been kidnapped was later found to have given authorities a false identity, police said on Saturday.

Ceres police previously said that bank employees at a Wells Fargo branch on 4th Street called them Thursday after a customer told them she had been kidnapped and ordered to withdraw a large amount of money.

Police responded and immediately arrested a woman who police later learned identified herself with a false name.

Police said they also learned that 33-year-old Nicholas Payton, who is a felon on probation, was also involved in the alleged kidnapping. He fled the area before police arrived but was arrested a block away.

Officers said they found a loaded rifle without a serial number in Payton's backpack.

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