Trio Jailed For Robbery, High-Speed Sonoma County Chase, Police Say

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Three men are accused of robbing a Safeway store Thursday night in Santa Rosa, then leading the cops on a high-speed chase down U.S. Highway 101, police said.

The robbery was reported at 8:10 p.m. at the Safeway at 2785 Yulupa Ave. and involved three men in ski masks who stole several baskets full of merchandise worth over $1,000, Santa Rosa police Sgt. Matt Crosbie said.

As the suspects left the store toward a car in the parking lot, they were confronted outside by a clerk. The suspects reportedly brandished black handguns and threatened to shoot the clerk, then took off in a car described as a black "lowered" sedan with tinted windows.

Officers responded and spotted a car matching that description getting onto southbound U.S. Highway 101 from the state Highway 12 interchange. The black sedan accelerated quickly away from the officer and a vehicle pursuit ensued.

The pursuit continued southbound on U.S. 101 for several miles, reaching speeds over 100 mph. Santa Rosa police requested help from allied agencies as the chase continued past the cities of Rohnert Park and Petaluma.

At one point during the pursuit, officers saw a backpack thrown from the passenger side window.

Spike strips were deployed as the pursuit continued toward the county line, disabling both driver-side tires. The suspects continued driving on deflated tires until a police intervention technique was performed and brought the car to a complete stop.

Three people in the car were taken into custody without further incident.

The backpack was also recovered and contained a black, 40-caliber Glock handgun with a 30-round magazine and ammunition inside, Crosbie said.

Inside the car were several items of merchandise from the Safeway store, according to police.

Additional items found in the car were believed to be related to other store burglaries in Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa earlier in the evening, Crosbie said.

Police identified the suspects as James Edward Vines, a 21-year-old Vallejo resident, Ettievy Coats, a 23-year-old Vallejo resident, and Gregory Garcia, a 23-year-old San Francisco resident.

All three were booked into Sonoma County jail on suspicion of robbery, evading arrest, conspiracy to commit a crime, firearms possession and possession of an unregistered firearm.