NORTH COAST, Calif. – Two Stockton men have been taken into custody in connection with an armed robbery in Hopland on Friday, with a third suspect still being sought.
Gregory Ladel Jenkins Jr. and Michael Edwin Steele, both 24 years of age, were arrested after being identified as suspects in the Friday evening robbery, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.
At 6:15 p.m. Friday the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an armed robbery that had just occurred in the 700 block of Harrison Street in Hopland, the agency reported.
The suspect vehicle was described as a black Dodge Challenger with tinted windows that had possibly left southbound on Highway 101 with three black male suspects with handguns. Sheriff’s officials said the reporting victim said the suspects took marijuana during the robbery.
Sonoma County law enforcement agencies were notified and the suspect vehicle was spotted and pursued by officers from the Cloverdale Police Department.
Upon arriving at the robbery scene deputies received conflicting statements from the numerous victims, but ascertained there had been a marijuana transaction where two of the suspect – who later were identified as Jenkins and Steele – allegedly had produced handguns and stole the marijuana, cell phones and one of the victim’s car keys before leaving in the black Dodge Challenger.
Once the suspect vehicle was stopped in Healdsburg, the three suspects fled on foot, sheriff’s officials said.
Sonoma County Sheriff’s deputies located Jenkins around 11 p.m. Friday and took him into custody. The report said Jenkins was positively identified by a victim as being one of the robbery suspects.
At 5:30 a.m. Saturday two more individuals thought to be suspects were detained by Sonoma County Sheriff’s deputies and were transported to Mendocino County Sheriff’s deputies, according to the report.
One of the suspects, identified as Steele, also was positively identified by one of the robbery victims, officials said.
The third subject later was determined to have responded from Stockton at Steele’s request; Steele had told him he had been robbed when he was trying to purchase marijuana in Santa Rosa. Authorities said that third subject was unaware Steele was being sought by law enforcement in regards to the Hopland robbery.
After corroborating the third subject’s statement, he was released without charges, the report explained.
Sonoma County law enforcement agencies were advised to be on the lookout for the third suspect who fled from the Dodge Challenger and is outstanding at this time, officials reported.
Jenkins and Steele were booked into the Mendocino County Jail, with each to be held on $250,000 bail.
The investigation into the Hopland robbery is ongoing and anyone with information is urged to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Tip-Line by calling 707-234-2100.