Ulta Beauty robberies in Petaluma, Santa Rosa lead to 5 arrests, 4 injured police officers

Four police officers suffered minor injuries and five suspects were arrested Monday night following a pair of robberies and a pursuit that ended with a crash.

The series of events involved suspects from other Bay Area cities and robberies at Ulta Beauty stores in Petaluma and Santa Rosa, according to the Petaluma Police Department.

The first robbery was reported at about 7 p.m. at the Petaluma store at 401 Kenilworth Drive where the suspects filled large bags with fragrances.

They fled in a white Range Rover with $1,000 to $2,000 in merchandise and were last seen heading toward Washington Street, police said, adding that a security guard tried to intervene and was assaulted.

Just before 7:30 p.m., Santa Rosa police responded to a similar robbery at the Ulta Beauty at 2080 Santa Rosa Ave. where a security guard had reportedly been punched and threatened.

The suspected thieves also fled in a Range Rover, which authorities concluded was stolen out of Oakland after its license plate was traced to a Jeep, according to Petaluma police.

A Santa Rosa police officer spotted the vehicle as it traveled south on Highway 101 at a high rate of speed. He lost sight of it in Cotati.

The California Highway Patrol found the Range Rover near Petaluma when it exited the freeway at Lakeville Street.

According to Petaluma police, the driver headed onto Caulfield Lane and then Hopper Street into the RiverFront Community, which doesn’t have an outlet. The driver then headed back to Hopper, authorities said, and rammed a Petaluma police vehicle that sustained heavy damage.

Two officers suffered minor injuries in the collision.

The suspects pulled over along Hopper and got out of the Range Rover. Police said four of them tried to escape over a nearby fence and across railroad tracks toward a business area north of Hopper.

Petaluma police deployed a K-9 that assisted with two arrests. One suspect was treated at Petaluma Valley Hospital for puncture wounds and a second stopped after the K-9 snagged their clothes, police said.

A third suspect was arrested near the fence and a fourth suspect was found on top of a shed at G&C Autobody, between Lakeville and Hopper.

The fifth suspect ran north along Hopper and made it 100 yards before surrendering, authorities said.

All suspects were arrested on suspicion of robbery, grand theft, conspiracy, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and evading police.

Police identified the Range Rover’s driver as Joshua Wilson, 21, of San Jose. He had three arrest warrants out of Sonoma, Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties related to theft, resisting arrest and providing false identification to police, officials said.

The other suspects are Dwayne Huntly, 20, of Hayward; Dejorna Whitney, 19, of Richmond; a 15-year-old from San Francisco and a 16-year-old from Oakland.

Wilson, Huntly and the 15-year-old all gave fake names during their arrests, according to police. The 16-year-old is accused of trying to escape handcuffs and kicking an officer.

Two officers suffered minor injuries during the arrests and one of them was treated at Petaluma Valley Hospital.

Ulta Beauty products were recovered from the vehicle, police said.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi