Active Duty U.S. Sailor Arrested For Trying To Rob Suisun City Wal-Mart: Police

SOLANO COUNTY, CA -- A Suisun City man who's an active duty member of the U.S. Navy was arrested Monday on suspicion of attempted armed robbery at a Wal-Mart store, Suisun City police said.

A man with a gun in his waistband tried to rob a teller at the Wal-Mart Supercenter's Money Center at 350 Walters Road at 1:08 p.m. on April 17, but the teller was unable to unlock a cash drawer and the man fled, police Cmdr. Andrew White said.

Around the same time as the attempted robbery, an alert citizen flagged down a Suisun City police officer about a suspicious vehicle, a gray Ford Mustang, in the Wal-Mart parking lot, White said.

The officer waited until the Mustang owner returned, and the man identified himself as 25-year-old Ellis Bradley. Bradley said he was an active member of the U.S. Navy. The officer confirmed the information and Bradley left the area, police said.

Around 1:30 p.m., Wal-Mart employees notified Suisun City police about the attempted robbery, White said, and responding officers viewed the store's video surveillance footage and realized the suspect was Bradley, police said.

Because of Bradley's military status, police contacted the U.S. Navy and the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force and learned Bradley was at the gate of the Travis Air Force Base, where he went for a training session,
White said.

Bradley was detained and Suisun City police arrested him around 4:45 p.m., White said.

Police searched Bradley's Mustang and a residence where he was staying in the 200 block of Brookside Drive and found a loaded firearm and other evidence in the Mustang linking him to the attempted robbery, according to White.

Bradley was booked into Solano County Jail on suspicion of attempted armed robbery, having a concealed firearm in a vehicle and other firearm offenses, police said.

Bay City News contributed to this report/Image via Shutterstock