Two held in strong-arm robbery of Paradise Road grocery store

Two men face robbery and conspiracy charges after one of them assaulted a store employee after stealing groceries, Modesto police report.

Sunday morning at MaxxValue Foods, 415 Paradise Road, 28-year-old Andrew L. Walters stole less than $200 in food items and fled out the back door of the store, said Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Heather Graves.

An employee followed Walters but was confronted outside by Tyler Scott Johnson, 27, who blocked and then assaulted him to keep the employee from pursuing, Graves said.

Shortly afterward, a police officer stopped Walters at the nearby intersection of Briggs Avenue and South Martin Luther King Drive for running a stop sign while riding a bike and pushing a grocery cart in front of him, Graves said. The officer asked if the groceries in the cart were stolen, and Walters admitted they were, she said.

As the officer was talking with Walters, a motorist pulled up and pointed across the street to Johnson, whom he identified as also having been involved in the robbery. A second officer detained Johnson, Graves said.

Both suspects were booked into the Stanislaus County Jail. Johnson’s bail was set at $50,000. Bail for Walters, who was on probation, was set at $100,000.

This story was originally published November 27, 2017 at 2:42 PM with the headline "Two held in strong-arm robbery of Paradise Road grocery store."