Police search for Petaluma AT&T store armed robbery suspects

Petaluma police are investigating a Tuesday night armed robbery at an AT&T store that prompted a shelter-in-place on the other end of town after a GPS tracker on a stolen phone led officers there.

Police asked residents to remain in their homes as they combed through the Oak Hill Park neighborhood, but the three suspects never were located. Officers did find a red Suzuki car registered out of Sacramento that matched the description of the vehicle the suspects fled in, as well as some of the items stolen from the AT&T store on South McDowell Boulevard, Petaluma Sgt. Rick Cox said.

“There were no witnesses located and it was unknown which way the suspects fled,” Cox said.

A store manager reported the armed robbery at about 8 p.m. Tuesday. Police were told three men briefly entered the shop before retreating back to a red car.

The manager recognized the suspects from a prior armed robbery at one of the store’s Santa Rosa locations and went to lock the door, Cox said. One of the men re-entered the store, this time armed with a handgun.

The suspect, described as a black man in his early 20s with short dreads and a tattoo over his left brow, ordered employees to give him phones and took items from customers. One of the employees ran out through an emergency door at the back of the store, which set off an alarm, causing the suspect to flee with the stolen items.

He and the two other men then drove away in the red car, Cox said.

Officers were able to track one of the phones to the Oak Hill Park neighborhood using a GPS device, Cox said. A shelter-in-place alert was issued for the area at about 8:41 p.m., and lifted less than two hours later.

Officers are following up on investigative leads, including the car found in the area and surveillance footage taken at the AT&T store, Cox said. They’re also coordinating with other agencies to see if the group is responsible for similar robberies.

Robbers struck a Petaluma T-Mobile store back in August. It was part of a $10,000 burglary spree that began in Santa Rosa, where three suspects used wire cutters to cut loose phones and computers from displays, police said.

Two of the suspects - Tarell Armstrong, 26, and Joshua Green, 27, both of Oakland - were arrested later that night after a short high speed chase in Petaluma. But the third suspect slipped away.

In Tuesday’s incident, the man seen holding the handgun during the robbery was described as being 5-foot-9 and about ?170 pounds. One of the two other men is believed to be a man also in his early 20s, weighing 150 pounds and 5-foot-5. The third suspect is only described as having a mustache and wearing a white hooded sweatshirt.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter ?@nashellytweets.