Sonoma Recycling Center Robbers Arrested

Police nab 2 in robbery

Published: Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
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With a tip from an Agua Caliente resident, Sonoma police nabbed two teenagers less than an hour after they allegedly robbed at gunpoint the recycling center behind the Safeway store in Sonoma.

Police said the two teens robbed three people at the center behind the West Napa Street grocery store shortly before 4 p.m. The victims said the two teens, a white male and a Latino male, warned that they also had a machine gun and demanded money from them.

The teenagers then fled north on Fifth Street West in a black sports car that had its license plate bent up to avoid detection, said Sonoma Police Sgt. Dave Thompson.

Sonoma County sheriff's deputies and the sheriff's helicopter were called to join the search.

At 4:25 p.m., a resident of the El Portola neighborhood in Agua Caliente reported he had seen two men in a black Mitsubishi Eclipse who appeared to be hiding out in the area. The resident told police the car's license plate was bent up.

"That's when we scrambled to that area," Thompson said.

As patrol cars arrived, the Mitsubishi "scooted out" of the back end of the neighborhood, he said. A deputy pursued the car on Highway 12 and during the chase, a handgun was seen thrown from the car near Nuns Canyon Road. The two men pulled over just east of Dunbar Road and were soon arrested.

Traffic was blocked during the arrest. A person waiting in traffic spotted the gun, picked it up and handed it to deputies, Thompson said.

The two teenagers, Ramon Llamas, 19, and a 16-year-old boy, both of Napa, were arrested and turned over to sheriff's detectives from the Violent Crimes Unit for further investigation.

-- Martin Espinoza

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FROM SONOMA INDEX TRIBUNE

Pair arrested after armed robbery

7/18/08
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A 19-year-old man and a 16-year-old male juvenile were arrested Friday afternoon after reportedly holding up the recycling center behind the Safeway on West Napa Street and leading deputies on a high-speed chase up Highway 12.

According to Sgt. Dave Thompson with the Sonoma Police Department, officers were sent to the recycling center for a reported armed robbery. The victims reported two males armed with handguns demanded money from them. The suspects also made mention of having a machine gun. After taking cash from the victims, the suspects fled northbound on Fifth Street West in a black sports car, which had the rear license plate bent upward to avoid detection. Sonoma police and sheriff's deputies converged on the area and the sheriff's helicopter, Henry 1, joined the search for the fugitives.

At about 4:25 PM, a resident in the El Portola neighborhood in Agua Caliente reported two males in a black Mitsubishi Eclipse appeared to be hiding in the area. The vehicle then left that area in an unknown direction. About 10 minutes later, a deputy located the suspect vehicle in the area of Highway 12 and Arnold Drive. The deputy pursued the suspect vehicle northbound on Highway. 12.. During the pursuit, a handgun was thrown from the suspect vehicle near Nuns Canyon Road. The suspects then came to a stop just east of Dunbar Road and were taken into custody without incident.

Thompson said a loaded 9mm pistol was later located alongside Highway 12 near Nuns Canyon Road. The suspects, Ramon Llamas and the juvenile, both from Napa, were arrested and turned over to sheriff's detectives from the Violent Crimes Unit for further investigation.