Good Samaritans shot during crime rampage in Pinole by suspect released from jail
A man on a pre-trial release was arrested Wednesday after police said a failed transaction at a gas station convenience store in Pinole led to a crime rampage, including a double shooting, robbery, assault and multiple attempted carjackings.
Pinole Police said in a press release Thursday that dispatchers received a 911 call from a Chevron convenience store on the 2600 block of Pinole Valley Road at about 12:20 p.m. Wednesday and heard a loud argument on the line just before the call disconnected.
As officers responded, other 911 callers reported a robbery at the location and that two people had been shot, police said, with callers offering a description of the suspect who had fled north toward a Jack in the Box restaurant next door to the Chevron station.
Officers arrived to find the suspect on Pinole Valley Road under Interstate 80 and safely took him into custody, police said. At the Chevron, other responding officers found two victims with gunshot wounds that were not life-threatening and they were taken to a local hospital and later released.
After interviewing witnesses and reviewing surveillance video, investigators determined the suspect had originally tried to buy something at the convenience store but the transaction was declined, according to police.
The suspect argued with the clerk and then came around the sales counter and tried unsuccessfully to open the cash register, police said. The suspect then ripped the register off the counter and the cables from the business telephone and left the store, police said.
Once in the Chevron lot, police said the suspect tried to carjack a vehicle but the driver was able to get away. He then walked over to a car parked at one of the pumps, smashed the passenger door window, and stole a purse from the front seat, police said.
When the owner of the purse chased the suspect and struggled over the bag with him until he struck her several times, knocking her to the ground, according to police. When two good Samaritans intervened to help the woman, the suspect pulled out a gun and fired multiple rounds at the good Samaritans, police said.
The suspect fled on foot through the Jack in the Box parking lot next door and threw the gun into the bushes, which was later located with the help of a Concord Police Department K-9 unit, according to police. As he continued to head north on Pinole Valley Road toward I-80, the suspect unsuccessfully tried to carjack two more vehicles, police said.
After officers found the suspect under the freeway overpass, they recovered the stolen purse and property belonging to the robbery victim at the scene, police said. The suspect was identified as 21-year-old Demetrius Chafford of Fairfield. Chafford was found to be on pre-trial release after his arrest on Dec. 14 for evading an officer and weapons violations out of Solano County.
Chafford was booked at the Martinez Detention Facility on multiple charges including two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, attempted robbery, three counts of attempted carjacking, and carrying a concealed firearm.
The investigation was ongoing and witnesses were still being interviewed. Anyone with information about the incident was asked to contact Detective Dean at 510-724-1111.