4 Arrested After Theft Foiled At San Mateo Target: Police

SAN MATEO, CA — Three suspects waiting for an accomplice behind a Target store in San Mateo instead found themselves in the company of police on Monday morning, authorities said.

Someone at the store, at 2220 Bridgepoint Parkway, had called police about 8:41 a.m. after seeing a suspect wearing a ski mask and carrying a backpack enter the store, while an accomplice parked a red Honda CR-V in the rear of the store.

Officers arrived about five minutes later and found the Honda parked next to a delivery door.
They detained three suspects in the car, later identified as Richard Mark Morales Jr., Jandre Pierre Blakely, and Jacey Lynn Cummans. All three had multiple arrest warrants and were in violation of narcotics-related offenses, police said.

While the trio was being detained, the suspect in the ski mask emerged from the store's delivery door, allegedly carrying nearly $2,000 in stolen goods. But when the suspect, later identified as Gerald Bennett Robinson Jr., spotted the officers he doubled back inside the store.

"Upon seeing the presence of multiple officers and patrol cars, Robinson quickly retreated back into the store, slamming the delivery door shut," police said in a news release.

The officers were thus locked out, but they went around to the front of Target and intercepted Robinson as he allegedly tried to escape.

Police said that after his arrest, Robinson told them he had swallowed fentanyl. The officers also found that the Honda had false license plates and had been stolen but not reported.

The vehicle's owner also possessed video evidence of Morales stealing the Honda from the front of their home in San Francisco, police said.

Two of the suspects were initially taken to the hospital for medical evaluation before being taken into custody.

"It is worth noting that all four suspects expressed disappointment upon learning that they would not be cited and released but instead would be booked into jail," police said in a news release.

"One suspect's reaction to this news, during which he intentionally harmed himself by slamming his head into the side of a police car, was captured on camera."

Blakely, 32, of San Francisco, was arrested on suspicion of crimes that include possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Cummans, 31, of Vallejo was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and a Napa Count theft warrant.

Morales Jr., 32, of Hayward, was taken into custody on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, conspiracy to commit crime and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Robinson Jr., 45, of San Francisco, was arrested on suspicion of crimes that include grand theft, conspiracy to commit crime, possession of a controlled substance and warrants for drugs and theft out of Menlo Park and Fremont.

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