3 Arrested In String Of Robberies At Carquinez Bridge Toll Plaza
VALLEJO (CBS SF) - Three men were arrested this week in connection with a string of robberies at the Carquinez Bridge toll plaza, California Highway Patrol officials announced Thursday morning.
The suspects were identified by the CHP as Vallejo residents Robert Larry White, 43; Christopher Lee Miller, 30; and David Joseph Morales, 47.
At a news conference in Vallejo Thursday morning, CHP officials announced that the suspects have been linked to three of 10 robberies of toll-takers that occurred between late 2011 and May 2012.
Roughly $5,000 was stolen from toll workers in the 10 robberies, CHP Investigator Matt Werle said.
"It was a crime of opportunity," he said.
In the robberies, suspects would drive up to the toll plaza and demand cash from the toll-takers. The perpetrators often wore ski masks and were armed with various weapons, which they used to threaten their victims, Werle said.
He said the robbers used stolen cars to commit the crimes. At least two of those vehicles have been recovered.
Werle said CHP investigators believe there are other robbery suspects still at large, and that the investigation into the robberies was continuing.
All three men in custody are Vallejo natives with criminal histories, CHP officials said. Werle said it is not yet clear whether they know each other.
White was arrested on suspicion of robbery, violating his probation and using a gun in the commission of a felony.
Miller was arrested for robbery, probation violation and vehicle theft. Morales, who was already in custody on unrelated charges, was arrested on suspicion of robbery, Werle said.
CHP officers made the arrests after an investigation aided by the Solano and Napa County sheriff's offices and Vallejo and Benicia police.
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