Two held in robbery of Sonora convenience store

Two people were arrested Thursday morning after the robbery of a convenience store in Sonora. One of the two admitted to robbing the store and, on Sunday night, the Burger King restaurant next door, the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office reported.

About 12:20 a.m. Thursday, deputies were dispatched to a robbery at the Flyers minimart at 13778 Mono Way, just northeast of Tuolumne Road.

The report was that a tall man dressed all in black entered the business and held the clerk at knifepoint, then fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of money. The clerk suffered a minor cut and was transported for treatment at the Sonora Regional Medical Center, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

On the way to Flyers, a sergeant saw a blue Dodge truck traveling in the area at low speed. There were two people in the truck, and the driver looked to be tall and slender, resembling the description of the suspect from the Burger King robbery.

When the sergeant tried to pull over the truck, the driver fled, leading to a 2-mile pursuit. The driver and his female passenger then left the truck and fled on foot, but were caught by deputies.

The driver, 22-year-old Timothy Reel of Sonora, was booked on charges of robbery, evading a peace officer, conspiracy and resisting or delaying an officer. Kamelia Hutchinson, 22, of Long Barn was booked on charges of robbery, giving false identification to a peace officer, conspiracy and resisting or delaying an officer.

Each is being held on $50,000 bail. Reel admitted to detectives that he robbed both Flyers and Burger King, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

In the Burger King robbery, a man entered through the front door, rushed to the counter with one hand in his pocket and demanded cash. He did not display a weapon. He fled with about $200 from the counter register and drive-thru register.

This story was originally published December 24, 2015 at 10:32 AM with the headline "Two held in robbery of Sonora convenience store."