SALINAS, Calif. (UPI) -- Police said a Salinas, Calif., man stole a Chevy pickup truck only hours before the vehicle was taken from him at gunpoint.

Police Cmdr. Kelly McMillin said Edward Bishop, 33, admitted to police he stole the Chevrolet Silverado truck at about 1 a.m. Saturday, the Salinas Californian reported.

However, Bishop said that later that day, a second man -- identified by police as Jomo Sexton, 34 -- entered the truck and pointed a gun at him. He told police Sexton made him drive around Salinas until the truck ran out of gas, at which point Bishop said he escaped and phoned police.

Bishop was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft and booked into the Monterey County Jail.

Sexton was taken to a hospital for treatment after crashing the stolen truck into a flag pole in front of Salinas Fire Station II, and was then released into police custody. He was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, carjacking, reckless driving, driving under the influence, unlicensed driving, hit and run and violating his parole.

"You couldn't make up something stranger than this," McMillin said.