Three cannabis industry workers carrying a large sum of cash drove straight to San Mateo Police Department headquarters on Thursday, Aug. 20, after realizing a black Audi SUV had been following them from Oakland. Their decision to pull into the station parking lot set off a multi-agency pursuit that ended with four arrests across the Bay Area.
The couriers told officers they had picked up the cash from an Oakland marijuana dispensary as payment for their cannabis equipment supply company and were heading to a San Francisco-area bank to deposit it, according to a San Mateo Police Department press release. They noticed the Audi following them from Oakland into San Mateo and, fearing robbery, drove directly to the SMPD station at 200 Franklin Parkway.
The Audi drove away once the couriers pulled in.
Officers issued a be-on-the-lookout alert for the vehicle, citing what the department described as "prior knowledge of similar marijuana dispensary-related robberies in which suspects targeted couriers for cash and/or merchandise." Using license plate reader technology, an officer then spotted the Audi heading eastbound on Highway 92 toward the San Mateo Bridge.
Pursuit across the bridge
With help from the California Highway Patrol, officers attempted a traffic stop in Hayward. The driver made multiple unsafe turns and accelerated to dangerous speeds in heavy traffic, San Mateo police said. Officers called off the ground pursuit because of the risk to the public.
The Alameda County Sheriff's Office tracked the Audi by air to an area underneath a freeway overpass in Oakland, where the suspects abandoned it. Patch reported the location as Grand Avenue and Lake Park. The suspects climbed into a waiting black Mercedes sedan driven by its registered owner, a 26-year-old Redwood City man, according to San Mateo police.
CHP, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office and East Bay Regional Parks police located the Mercedes near Highway 880 and Powell Street, where all four occupants were detained.
Arrests
Three suspects, a 30-year-old Fairfield man, a 26-year-old Fairfield woman and a 25-year-old Richmond man, were each arrested on suspicion of felony evading a peace officer with wanton disregard for safety. The Mercedes driver was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory after the fact.
All four were booked into Santa Rita Jail. No robbery charges had been filed as of the department's Aug. 21 press release.
The incident involved four agencies: SMPD, CHP, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office and East Bay Regional Parks police. Residents who observe suspicious activity can contact the San Mateo Police Department at 650-522-7626.
