Three Nabbed in Manhunt After Armed Robbery

Three men are in custody and police are searching for a fourth suspect after an alleged throughout San Rafael Friday evening, police said.

The suspects – 19-year-old Kenneth Wayne Woodard and 21-year-old Khiry Jefferson, both of San Rafael, and 23-year-old Frank Lee Gray of Oakland – were apprehended after a search that included more than four dozen police officers and a California Highway Patrol helicopter, according to San Rafael Police spokesperson Margo Rohrbacher.

Police received a report about a home invasion robbery on Sea Way, a dead-end street off Point San Pedro Road, at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The woman caller said several men, including one man armed with a gun, forced their way into her home and then fled in a car, police said. No one was injured in the robbery and the stolen property was not disclosed.

Two minutes after the call, an officer on Third Street saw a car containing four men matching descriptions of the robbers. The officer looked into the car and saw the passengers ducking down to hide from view. The officer then drove behind the car on Union Street when the driver abruptly stopped and all four suspects jumped out of the car and ran away, police said.

Woodward and Jefferson were caught and taken into custody immediately and Gray ran into the San Rafael Commons apartment complex at 302 Fourth Street. Witnesses told police the fourth suspect ran north on Union Street into the neighborhood behind San Rafael High School, according to police.

The area was immediately shut down and police officers from throughout Marin County responded to assist in the search for the two remaining suspects.

Gray was found hiding under a car in a parking lot at the San Rafael Commons apartment complex and was taken into custody at 7:50 p.m., police said. The search for the fourth suspect was called off at 9:30 p.m. although he had not been found.

Police described the at-large suspect as a black man, about 20 to 25 years old, standing from about 5 feet 8 inches to five feet 10 inches tall with extremely short hair that looks almost shaved. He was reported wearing blue jeans and tennis shoes.

Rohrbacher said one of the suspects was taken to Marin General Hospital after he head-butted the window of a police car as he was being taken into custody. He was treated and taken to Marin County Jail.

About 50 officers responded to the search including SWAT teams from the San Rafael Police Department, Marin County Sheriff's Office and Twin Cities Police. For several hours a Novato Police K9 unit and California Highway Patrol helicopter combed the area, searching for the suspects, according to police.

All three suspects face multiple felony charges, including robbery, burglary and consiracy to commit a crime. Gray and Jefferson also face charges for resisting arrest and probation violation. Woodward, Jefferson and Gray remain in custody at Marin County Jail on $75,000 bail.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call police at (415) 485-3000 or contact the department through the Silent Witness program at www.srpd.org. Tipsters can also call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477 or visit www.bayareacrimestoppers.com.

--Bay City News Service contributed to this report.