Fairfield's 'Hard Hat Robber' Arrested
FAIRFIELD (CBS13) – A man dubbed the "hard hat robber" by Fairfield Police has been arrested in San Francisco.
According to the Fairfield Police Department, a man was wanted for burglarizing at least two Fairfield businesses while wearing a hard hat and an orange reflective vest. The first incident happened on March 29, while the second happened on April 3. Police say that, in the first incident, the man walked into the 1700 block of N. Texas Street business and hit a customer in the head with a handgun. The man then pointed the gun at an employee and robbed her.
The man is said to have gotten away from the scene in a stolen car. Witnesses later saw the man ditch the stolen car and get into a minivan.
The later incident happened just a block down from the first robbery. The man, again dressed like a worker, robbed two employees.
It was a robbery just two days later in Fairfield that helped police zero-in on the man. Witnesses were able to give police enough information to catch the man in a stolen car he tried to drive away from the Vallejo scene. He was identified as Eric Johnson, a man with a lengthy criminal history.
Detectives were able to link Johnson to the two other robberies and an arrest warrant was soon issued. Authorities arrested Johnson, who apparently had been released from his Vallejo arrest, in San Francisco on April 19.
Police say that Johnson has an extensive criminal history that includes charges of rape, robbery, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, home invasion robbery, possession of firearms, vehicle theft, possession of stolen property, probation violations, parole violations, DUI, child cruelty, battery, possession of narcotics and false imprisonment. Johnson is also a registered sex offender.
Authorities are still looking for the person who drove Johnson away from the scene of the first incident. Anyone with information about who that driver may be is asked to call the Fairfield Police Department.