Cotati Man Among 3 Arrested On Suspicion Of Shoplifting, Conspiracy

PETALUMA, CA — A trio of shoplifters was busted Sunday night at Kohl's in Petaluma.

As for the car they arrived in? It crashed into a building, police said.

It happened shortly before 6:30 p.m. Sunday. An employee at Kohl's, 1363 N. McDowell Blvd., called police to report seeing three men working together to cut off security devices and conceal merchandise.

Officers responded and made contact with two of the suspects, later identified as Robert Arteaga, 33, of Cotati, and Juan Urquiaga, 27, of Santa Rosa, as they were leaving the store with $640 in stolen merchandise, police said.

The third suspect, Edwin Cannon, 21, of Santa Rosa, got into an SUV the men had arrived in and started to drive away but then decided to ditch the car and flee on foot, police said.

Cannon was taken into custody not far away from the store.

The SUV was not properly put into park and it slowly rolled across the parking lot until it crashed into a nearby business.

Officers learned the SUV was reported stolen the day prior from a rental company in Marin County.

Police said because the men were working together, all three were arrested on suspicion of shoplifting and conspiracy and booked into Sonoma County jail.

Urquiaga was further charged on suspicion of violating his parole terms and possession of burglary tools and drug paraphernalia.

Arteaga was further charged with violating the terms of his probation, and Cannon was further charged on suspicion of resisting arrest and possessing a stolen vehicle.

Police said thankfully, no one was injured as the car rolled and hit the building.