BETHEL ISLAND — A local resident has been arrested and charged with robbery and grand theft in connection with a Dec. 14 incident where eight guns were stolen from a home, court records show.
The 35-year-old suspect was charged last month with two counts of robbery and one count of grand theft of firearms. Earlier this month a judge ordered him to stand trial after a preliminary hearing. His arraignment was set for Tuesday, and he remains jailed in Martinez, court records show.
Police say that at about 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 14, a resident on the 4000 block of Willow Road in Bethel Island called police to report two men loading stuff from his garage into a pickup truck. When he confronted the men, one of them allegedly punched him in the face multiple times before they drove off.
The robbers turned out to be taking guns from a gun safe, but police caught a lucky break — as the resident was confronting the suspects, his cellphone slipped from his pocket and fell into the bed of their pickup truck, allowing police to track the GPS signal.
The victim’s cellphone signal led authorities to a mobile home park at Alcott Court, where the 35-year-old man lived. During a search of his home, police found fentanyl, firearms, rifle magazines, and various gun accessories. They say he has multiple felony convictions, including two convictions for assault, that forbid him from possessing firearms.
On his cellphone, police recovered text messages referencing gun sales and telling another person he had a drone that could conduct surveillance, according to court records.
The second suspect in the Willow Road robbery has not yet been charged, court records show.
Source: www.mercurynews.com