Second suspect in Santa Rosa jewelry store shootout in custody

An Oakland man suspected of taking part in a botched armed robbery of a Bennett Valley jewelry store in July is in custody at an Alameda County jail, according to Santa Rosa police, who are in the process of getting him transfered to Sonoma County to face a slew of felony charges.

Oakland police arrested Johnny Tasker Douglas, 34, on Monday on a suspected parole violation, according to jail records. Santa Rosa police said Douglas is believed to have been hiding, most likely in the Oakland area, after seeking treatment at a hospital there for wounds to his arm and side he suffered when he was shot during the July 10 robbery by Ty Visscher, co-owner of Bennett Valley Jewelers.

Jimmy L. Terry, 43, another Oakland man suspected of being Douglas’ accomplice, is being held at the Sonoma County Jail, where he is facing eight felony charges in connection with the holdup.

Terry, who police said was also shot during the robbery, was apprehended in the parking lot outside the store by an undercover police officer who had been eating lunch at a Mexican restaurant nearby.

Douglas was able to make a getaway, driving off in a red Ford Mustang, which was reported stolen in Livermore the previous day, police said. He abandoned the car nearby, fled on foot and managed to elude a massive police search, authorities said. However, inside the vehicle DNA was recovered that was used to determine Douglas’ identity, according to Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Dave Linscomb.

Once police had a name, detectives contacted parole and other law enforcement agencies to let them know they were looking for Douglas in connection with the armed robbery attempt, said Linscomb, who oversees the Santa Rosa Police Department’s violent crimes investigations unit.

After Douglas abandoned the Mustang at the corner of Tachevah Drive and Neotomas Avenue, he somehow made his way back to Oakland, where he sought treatment for at least two bullet wounds, Linscomb said. Hospitals and other medical facilities are required by law to report to police when patients arri ve with serious gunshot wounds, which was done in this case, said Linscomb.

However, at the time Oakland police spoke to Douglas in the hospital, they did not yet know he was being sought in the Santa Rosa case, Linscomb said. Douglas was treated and transferred to another hospital but, according to Linscomb, left against medical advice and went into hiding, until he was arrested Monday.

The jewelry store shootout shattered a bright, sunny afternoon in the quiet strip mall on Yulupa Avenue, home for nearly 30 years to Bennett Valley Jewelers, which had resisted advice from its insurers to install a monitored security door, despite previous armed robbery attempts.

“I never wanted to lock the front door and have to buzz people in,” said Visscher, who had such a system and other security improvements installed after the July robbery attempt, the third time in two years the store had been hit by thieves.

“We wanted to preserve what we love about living out here in the country. Sadly, we had to do it. Our customers have been very supportive and understanding.”

But on July 10, surveillance cameras monitored the front of the store and captured the attempted robbery and shootout from at least three angles. Visscher showed the video footage to a Press Democrat reporter this week.

The videos, which do not have sound, reveal a brief and violent sequence of events that begins when a man, who police have identified as Terry, walks boldly through the store’s open front door, holding a revolver in his outstretched right arm.

The man is dressed in dark clothing and appears to be wearing a mask over part of his face. Longtime employee Suzanne Dodd, 64, is sitting at a desk just behind the counter when the man enters, striding with purpose across the small store. In about 10 to 12 seconds, the gunman hops over the 3 ½-foot high counter and grabs Dodd, who has not returned to work since the incident. The two move out of camera sight for a moment, but objects next to the desk start shaking. Visscher said Dodd was fighting the suspect and kicking out with her feet.

Off camera, Visscher is in the back of the store with another employee - the only other person in the business at the time of the robbery. The employee hits a panic button and grabs a phone to call 911, while Visscher, a licensed gun owner with hours of training, grabs a semi-automatic pistol that he keeps loaded in a drawer in his office.

The video shows Visscher walking to the front of the store with the gun up, both hands on the grip, a classic firing position.

“I told him to drop his gun,” Visscher said as he played the video. “He yelled that he was going to effing kill her.”

As Visscher has his gun trained on the suspect, a second man who police have identified as Douglas, enters the store and immediately uses a tool to shatter a glass counter to his left, where the store’s pricey Rolex watches are displayed.

The man, who is dressed in a blue-checkered shirt that he wears over his jeans, starts taking watches out of the case and stuffing them into a black bag on his shoulder.

Less than 20 seconds after the first man walked into the store, Visscher says something and pivots suddenly to his right. He fires at least twice at the man at the case. Visscher said he was yelling at both men to drop their weapons, and that at the time he fired, he did not know whether the second man had a gun.

Clutching his stomach, the man with the hammer takes a step or two backward, stumbles and falls to the floor. He frantically hauls himself out the store’s front door, leaving behind his bag, the tools and the merchandise.

With his accomplice having fled, the gunman, still behind the counter, violently drags Dodd toward the broken display case. Using her as a shield, he backs away from Visscher, who can be seen yelling something to him.

Visscher still had not fired at the man holding Dodd.

“I’ve been mad in my life, but I don’t remember ever being that angry,” said Visscher, who said he held back because he was afraid of shooting Dodd. “My only concern at that point was to protect my employee. The merchandise is replaceable.”

Roughly 30 seconds have elapsed, and now Visscher and the gunman are standing about 10 feet apart. The man has an awkward hold on Dodd, with his gun hand around the outside of her arm. He begins to fire off rounds at Visscher, the muzzle flashes visible on the video.

Visscher said he recognized the suspect had a revolver and assumed he had only five or six bullets.

“I was trying to count the rounds,” he said.

None of the bullets hit Visscher, but in trying to shoot around his hostage, the gunman’s bullets graze Dodd, at least one in each arm. The force of the blasts causes her head to recoil and her hair to fly up as if hit by a gust of wind.

“I heard her yell ‘ow! ow!’ - it’s a terrible sound; she was obviously in pain,” said Visscher, who can be seen suddenly flinching and turning away, a reflexive reaction that he ?said happened after he felt one bullet fly by his left side.

A bullet shatters a cube in a glass wall behind Visscher and another ricochets off a steel hood in the back of the store.

It appears the suspect fires five or six shots toward Visscher, who said he believed at this point the revolver was out of bullets. Still worried for his employee, he refuses to return fire.

Instead, he approaches the suspect who is trying to drag the injured Dodd, using her as a shield as he retreats.

“I told him to stay on the ground,” Visscher said. “I said it again and again.”

Seeing an opening when the suspect briefly separates from Dodd, Visscher fires and hits the suspect in the right hand.

The suspect lets go of Dodd and jumps back over the counter, turning away from Visscher, who doesn’t fire again until the man turns to face him. Then Visscher fires again, hitting the suspect three more times, including once in the neck. The suspect limps out of the store and into the parking lot, where he will be tackled by the undercover Santa Rosa police officer.

The recording ends after just under a minute, as Visscher follows the second suspect to the door.

“There wasn’t one moment where these men showed any remorse or concern for their actions,” he said.

“I would take a bullet myself, but my employees are family. My only concern was for her. That’s all I was thinking about.”

You can reach Staff Writer Elizabeth M. Cosin at 521-5276 or elizabeth.cosin@pressdemocrat.com.