Dramatic CHP Video: Hercules Starbucks Robbery Suspects Arrested After Wild East Bay Pursuit
EMERYVILLE (CBS SF) -- Three suspects in the robbery of a Hercules Starbucks were in custody after they led police and California Highway Patrol officers on a wild pursuit that included traveling the wrong way on a busy Interstate Highway 80 and 580, forcing other drivers to swerve out of the way.
Investigators said the incident began around 12:57 p.m. Wednesday when police responded to reports of a man running out of a Starbucks on Willow Ave. in Hercules with a trash bag full of money from the cash registers.
The suspect, described as a thin, Black man wearing dark clothing, had asked the manager for the money from the registers and the safe. Witnesses said a firearm fell from his waistband as he placed cash in the bag and he was communicating with someone via radio.
Unable to access the safe, police said, the suspect fled and got into a 2006 gray BMW, which drove off towards 1-80 eastbound.
An officer spotted the BMW near the Carquinez bridge and followed it through Vallejo until more officers arrived.
Officers tried to flag down the BMW at a traffic enforcement stop, but the car did not stop, and police initiated a pursuit.
The pursuit continued toward the Columbus Parkway exit in Vallejo and back on I-80 westbound. California Highway Patrol officers took over the pursuit in Richmond with a CHP helicopter overhead.
At one point the vehicle was traveling the wrong way on I-80/580 and the busy transition ramp between the two freeways in the Emeryville/Oakland area.
The BMW exited the freeway in Emeryville and the three occupants of the bailed on foot near Hollis Street. The suspects were located -- one who was cornered on the front steps of an Emeryville home -- taken into custody and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.
Police ask for anyone with more information on the case to contact Detective Darin Tellez at (510) 799-8256 Detective Greg Sanchez at (510) 799-8274.