Santa Rosa Hydroponics Store Robbed At Gunpoint; Ex-Employee Arrested
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) -- A former Santa Rosa Hydroponics and Growing Supplies store employee was arrested in South Lake Tahoe Wednesday on suspicion of robbing the store last month, Santa Rosa police said.
Jessie Hicks, 28, of Santa Rosa, was detained by the California Highway Patrol while he was driving in South Lake Tahoe, police said.
The robbery suspect was armed with a handgun when he entered the store at 4880 state Highway 12 around 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 29, police said.
The suspect's face was covered with a cloth and he was wearing a hood, but he addressed the clerk by his first name and demanded cash from the register, police said.
Witnesses identified Hicks as the suspect and an ex-employee of the store and police then broadcast an alert to other law enforcement agencies regarding Hicks' involvement in the robbery.
Based on the broadcast alert, the CHP detained Hicks in South Lake Tahoe and notified Santa Rosa police.
The CHP learned Hicks moved to an apartment in Stateline, Nev., and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office in Nevada got a warrant to search Hick's apartment, where evidence from the robbery was found, police said.
Santa Rosa police detectives went to the El Dorado County jail in South Lake Tahoe where Hicks was being held and arrested him on suspicion of the robbery.
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