Dalton Vaher, 19; Carl Green, 23; and a 17-year-old male juvenile were taken into custody late Friday, according to Lt. Mike Hermann of the Clearlake Police Department.
Two armed suspects wearing masks allegedly attacked an employee at Foods Etc., 15290 Lakeshore Drive, at around 2 a.m. Friday, said Hermann.
Hermann said the suspects confronted night manager David Santana, who opened the store's rear loading door in preparation for a scheduled delivery.
The two male suspects – wearing dark clothing and partial masks – immediately ran inside toward Santana and pushed him back, Hermann said. One of the suspects was armed with a handgun and at one point struck Santana over the head with it while threatening to kill him if he did not cooperate.
Hermann said the suspects forced Santana at gunpoint to an undisclosed location where they retrieved a key to the safe and opened it. The suspects then took an undisclosed, large amount of cash from the safe and fled the store shortly after.
A silent alarm was initiated and Clearlake Police officers responded to the scene and began the initial investigation, Hermann said.
Hermann said the case was actively worked throughout the day, with police utilizing surveillance video from the store in the investigation.
Crime Suppression Unit members Sgt. Tim Celli and Officer Mike Ray later took over the investigation and immediately began identifying persons of interest, Hermann said.
One of those they identified was Vaher, who Hermann identified as an ex-employee of the store.
Police eventually located and questioned Vaher, who they allege helped plan and commit the crime while providing specific information about the store’s procedures to Green and the male juvenile, Hermann said.
Green is alleged to have entered the store directly behind the juvenile, who was armed with the handgun and assisted with controlling Santana once inside the store, according to Hermann.
After the arrests, a search warrant was obtained for a residence on Robinson Avenue where Dalton and Green both live. In addition, Hermann said police searched the juvenile's Clearlake residence.
As a result of the searches – both of the residences and the suspects themselves – Sgt. Celli and Officer Ray were able to recover a large portion of the stolen money in addition to identifying how the remainder of the cash had been spent, Hermann said.
Hermann said police also located the clothing items and the .380 semiautomatic pistol alleged to have been used during the robbery.
Dalton and Green were both booked into the Lake County Jail for armed robbery and conspiracy to commit a crime, said Hermann.
Meanwhile, Hermann said the juvenile male was transported to Lake County Juvenile Hall where he was charged with armed robbery, conspiracy to commit a crime, assault with a deadly weapon and being armed during the commission of a crime.
Anyone with additional information about this crime is asked to contact Sgt. Tim Celli at 707-994-8251.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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