3 arrested in East Bay for stealing $10,000 in cigarettes from convenience stores
FREMONT – Police in the East Bay arrested three people and recovered $10,000 in cigarettes following a convenience store robbery and pursuit late Monday night.
According to Fremont Police, officers responded to a robbery at a convenience store on Central Avenue shortly before 10:45 p.m.
A store clerk told officers that two masked suspects entered the store and stole cigarettes from behind the counter and made gestures that caused the clerks to believe the suspects were armed. The suspects then fled the scene in a vehicle.
Responding officers located the suspect vehicle nearby. Police said the suspects then led officers on a pursuit into neighboring Newark, which ended in a crash near Central Avenue and Cedar Boulevard.
The driver and front passenger fled the scene on foot, while the rear passenger complied with officers and was taken into custody at the scene. An officer with the Newark Police Department took the front passenger into custody a short distance away, while Fremont Police officers took the driver into custody after a foot pursuit.
During a search of the vehicle, police said they recovered the cigarettes from the store, along with "numerous cartons of cigarettes" believed to be stolen from other local convenience stores. According to officers, the recovered loss was estimated to be $10,000.
The driver, identified as 18-year-old Zocari Randy Hicks, was booked into jail on multiple charges, including robbery, evading a police officer, possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of stolen property, resisting a peace officer and providing false ID to an officer.,
Meanwhile the rear passenger, 22-year-old Keotis King Patterson of San Lorenzo, was arrested for robbery and a warrant from Antioch Police for murder.
The front passenger, 21-year-old Warren Christopher Rodgers Jr. of Newman, was arrested for robbery and resisting a peace officer.
All three suspects are being held at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, police said Friday.
Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to contact Ofc. Jeryll Perez via email or by calling 510-790-6800. Tips can also be sent anonymously by texting "Tip FREMONTPD" and your message to 888-777.