Rohnert Park Smoke Shop Clerk Runs Down Alleged Pot Pipe Thief
ROHNERT PARK (CBS SF) -- Police in Rohnert Park said they arrested a pair of teens and an adult Thursday after the teenagers stole a marijuana pipe from a smoke shop and a clerk from the shop pursued them, eventually hitting one of the juveniles with his Jeep.
Rohnert Park Public Safety received a report Wednesday night at around 9:20 p.m. of a 15-year-old boy hospitalized after being hit by a car in Alicia Park. Police investigation determined that the boy along with three other juvenile friends had entered a smoke shop on Commerce Boulevard on Wednesday.
The 15 year old and a 14-year-old friend entered the shop with masks pulled over their faces.
The clerk working at the smoke shop, 31-year-old Adam Richardson of Windsor, confronted the teens and told them to remove the masks. The 15 year old then grabbed a marijuana pipe and, along with his friend, ran from the store with Richardson in pursuit.
He stopped chasing the juveniles after they ran into nearby Copeland Creek, but Richardson later drove around Rohnert Park in his Jeep Wrangler searching for the teens. He explained that there had been several thefts from the store and he wanted to find them.
At around 6:50 p.m., Richardson found the two teens and pursued them through Alicia Park, eventually driving his Jeep into the 15 year old, causing the victim to roll up over the hood and front fender of the Jeep and land on his head on the asphalt pathway.
The teen had pushed his 14-year-old friend out of the way just before being struck by the vehicle.
Richardson just missed hitting the other teen and an exterior wall of John Reed Elementary School.
Richardson drove away from the scene and the teens ran to a friends house, where the friends mother noticed the 15 year old's injuries and took him to the hospital.
After learning what happened, Richardson was found at his home Thursday morning. He admitted to chasing the teens after they stole the marijuana pipe and striking the 15 year old with his Jeep.
Richardson was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and booked into the Sonoma County Jail.
The two teens who went into the store with masks covering their faces and stole the pipe were arrested for shoplifting and conspiracy to commit a crime, and the 14 year old was additionally arrested for an outstanding warrant.
Both juveniles were booked into the Sonoma County Juvenile Detention Facility.
