A dozen masked suspects break into Riverbank cannabis facility, prompting chase to Bay Area
A large crew of armed, masked suspects burglarized a cannabis distribution facility in Riverbank early Saturday and were traveling to a Ceres dispensary when police intercepted them, setting off a 90-mile pursuit to the Bay Area that reached speeds of up to 100 mph.
Stanislaus County sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Hickman said 12 or 13 suspects, some armed with guns, entered the business in the 5700 block of Terminal Avenue just after 3 a.m.
The facility’s security system alerted the owners, who called 911. Hickman said deputies responded in under three minutes but the suspects had fled.
They did a lot of damage, including breaking off door keypads, but never got to any of the product, Hickman said. Surveillance cameras captured them taking two totes that contained trimmings, which they dumped as they fled.
Notice was given to other area law enforcement to be on the lookout for four vehicles: a black Mercedes, gray Lexus, black Hyundai and white Infiniti.
A Ceres police officer responded by providing coverage at marijuana dispensaries there, according to a press release.
Officer Nicolas Welsh was watching a dispensary in the 4000 block of Farm Supply Drive when six vehicles approached the facility. Four of those matched the descriptions of those involved in the Riverbank burglary.
Welsh got behind the vehicles as they traveled south on Farm Supply Drive and turned onto Brew Master Drive.
The vehicles picked up speed and then made U-turns, passing Welsh, according to the release. The officer saw the drivers were wearing ski masks.
He followed the vehicles as they sped up and ran through a stop sign at the intersection of Farm Supply Drive and Service Road. He activated his overhead emergency lights and siren but the drivers didn’t pull over.
Welsh pursued the vehicles west on Service Road to Carpenter Road, then west on Highway 132.
The suspects were traveling at 100 mph and had their lights off, according to the press release.
When they reached Interstate 580 south of Tracy, the California Highway Patrol took over and the pursuit continued west.
Hickman said the CHP lost sight of the suspects in Oakland. The license plates of two of the vehicles came back registered in the Bay Area, one from Castro Valley and another that had been reported stolen out of Oakland. That vehicle was found abandoned in San Leandro.
This story was originally published October 24, 2022 at 3:01 PM.
