Police: 3 arrested after attempted cannabis dispensary burglary near Petaluma, 100 mph vehicle chase

Three Bay Area men were arrested Tuesday after authorities responded to an attempted burglary at a cannabis dispensary near Petaluma, the second targeting a dispensary in Sonoma County in two days, according to police.

The suspects were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy, possessing burglary tools, resisting arrest and evading police officers, according to a news release from the Petaluma Police Department.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, which has jurisdiction over the case, was not available for immediate comment on whether the suspects took any items from the dispensary.

The suspects were identified by police as Joshua Hawkins-Butler, 29 of Oakland; David Hill III, 18, of San Pablo; and Shawtanique Blocker, 31, of Oakland.

Petaluma Police Department officers and sheriff’s deputies were dispatched about 2:50 a.m. to a report of a burglary at a cannabis dispensary on Ely Road North, according to the release.

When officers responded to the scene at Down Under Industries, they saw four vehicles leaving the area, said Petaluma Police Lt. Tim Lyons.

Three of the automobiles matched the description of the three vehicles used by suspects in a dispensary burglary on Monday, during which Santa Rosa police said more than $40,000 in products and cash were stolen.

The Sheriff’s Office has not immediately responded to questions about whether the two burglaries are connected.

Petaluma police attempted to pull over the vehicles, which continued onto southbound Highway 101. One of the vehicles, a Mercedes-Benz, exited the roadway early in the pursuit at San Antonio Road, between Petaluma and Novato.

Police continued following the other vehicles on the highway, reaching speeds of over 100 mph before it became too dangerous for police to continue, Lyons said.

Officers then returned to the San Antonio Road exit and found the Mercedes near the highway offramp.

When police attempted to pull the car over, it fled on Silveira Ranch Road, a frontage road near the Waste Management Redwood Landfill in Novato.

The sedan continued driving south to the end of the road, crashed through a cattle fence and chain-link fence and finally collided into a solar panel.

The vehicle’s occupants ran from the scene.

To locate the suspects, police requested backup to from other agencies, including a helicopter from California Highway Patrol.

Hawkins-Butler, Hill and Blocker were found, arrested and booked into the Sonoma County jail.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @madi.smals.