NORTH COAST, Calif. – Police have arrested a Cloverdale man who they believe was responsible for two armed robberies in Sonoma County this week and the attempted armed robbery of a Lakeport grocery store on Sunday.
Jack Kendrick Owens Jr., 36, was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon as he was emerging from a gas station convenience store that he had just robbed, according to the Cloverdale Police Department.
Police said he's also believed to have hit two grocery stores – Bruno's in Lakeport and Cloverdale Food Center – on Sunday.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen confirmed to Lake County News that a joint investigation between his department and the Cloverdale Police Department led them to conclude that Owens was responsible for the Bruno's attempted robbery on Sunday afternoon.
Shortly before 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, a white male entered the Bruno's Shop Smart on Lakeport Boulevard, approached the customer service counter, displayed a black-colored handgun and demanded cash, as Lake County News has reported.
However, before he got any money, he fled before the scene, with police initially having no description of a vehicle or his direction of travel.
Then, shortly before 6 p.m. on Sunday, a robbery was reported at the Cloverdale Food Center, according to Cloverdale Police Sgt. Rudy Segobiano.
Segobiano said that the robber got away with some money in that incident, although the amount was not reported.
Police said the man responsible for the Cloverdale Food Center robbery was a white male adult who matched the description of the man who had attempted the Bruno's robbery.
Officers also were able to obtain specific information about a vehicle – a white four-door 1998 Oldsmobile that had distinctive damage – that was linked to the subject who held up the store, according to Cloverdale Police.
On Sunday evening, as Rasmussen's staff was working to get a composite sketch of the man who had attempted the Bruno's robbery out to the community, he said he received word from the Cloverdale Police Department about the robbery that had just taken place there.
“We started working with them late that night and sharing information on the two cases to see if they were related,” said Rasmussen.
Rasmussen said Det. Dale Stoebe began working with Cloverdale Police on the following day, and had continued his investigation this week.
Then, shortly after 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Cloverdale Police received information that a citizen had spotted the white Oldsmobile connected to the Sunday evening robbery in that city, the agency said.
Just as officers found the Oldsmobile parked in the Patriot Gas Station parking lot on Cloverdale Boulevard, the Cloverdale Police Department's dispatch center simultaneously received a holdup alarm from inside the gas station.
Officers converged on the gas station property and conducted a high-risk takedown of Owens as he exited the gas station, according to the Cloverdale Police Department's report.
As officers detained and searched Owens, they found a loaded imitation firearm pellet gun in his waistband and $700 in cash stuffed in his jacket sleeve, police said.
The gas station clerk told police that Owens entered the store, placed several grocery items on the counter, drew the pellet gun from his waistband and demanded the cash from the register. The clerk complied and was not injured.
Late on Wednesday afternoon, Rasmussen said his department got word from the Cloverdale Police Department that its officers had taken Owens into custody.
Rasmussen said Stoebe went to Cloverdale on Wednesday afternoon, and based on Stoebe's investigation, they believe Owens was in fact responsible for trying to rob Bruno's.
“We still have work to do but we do believe it is the same suspect,” Rasmussen said.
The Cloverdale Police Department said its officers on Wednesday also detained a woman who was a passenger in the Oldsmobile. She is under investigation for her knowledge of the robberies.
Owens was arrested and booked into the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility on two counts of felony armed robbery and an outstanding $10,000 Sonoma County felony fraud warrant, police said.
Rasmussen said his department is continuing its work on the case in order to file charges against Owens here in Lake County.
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