One Suspect Arrested, Another on the Run in Santa Rosa Coin Shop Robbery

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police-car-lights

 

On the morning of Saturday, July 14th the Santa Rosa Police Department received a 911 call reporting an armed robbery and shooting at the Big Oak Plaza Coin store located at 2490 West Third Street.

The investigation revealed that two suspects entered the store and each of the suspects grabbed a large tray of valuable coins from behind the counter. There were two employees in the store at the time and a third employee outside of the store. The first suspect fled the store carrying the tray of coins, and was confronted by the employee who was already outside the store. The suspect struggled with the employee and eventually threw the tray of coins at the store employee and fled on foot.

The second suspect attempted to flee the store with a tray of coins and was confronted by a store employee at the door to the business. The suspect struggled to leave the store with the coins, but the store employee knocked the tray to the ground. The store employee ran after the second suspect and the suspect pulled a semi-automatic handgun and fired one shot at the store employee. The suspects fled the scene together in a 2017 gray Ford Focus sedan with Illinois license plates.

The suspects are described as:

Suspect #1 — Caucasian Male, 25 to 35 years of age, 6 feet tall, 190 to 200 pounds, short brown hair. He had a “cheek stud” implanted high on his right cheekbone on his face with a clear round stone. The suspect possibly has tattoos on his right arm and hand.

Suspect #2 — African American Male, 6 feet tall, 230 pounds, with short black dreadlocks.

Santa Rosa Police Detectives continued the investigation and determined the identity of Suspect #2 who fired the shot. He was identified as Kevin Anthony Payne. Payne is a 29-year-old resident of Ontario, California in Southern California. Detectives worked tirelessly to locate Kevin Payne and they developed information that Payne had fled to Los Angeles in a Ford Focus. On Monday, Los Angeles Police Department officers arrested Kevin Payne in Los Angeles. Payne was still driving the Ford Focus and was in possession of a loaded semi-automatic handgun which matched the description of the firearm used in the robbery. Payne was arrested for attempted murder and robbery.

Payne is also prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a prior manslaughter conviction. This conviction was a result of a Sonoma County homicide arrest which occurred in Guerneville in July of 2011.

Detectives believe that Suspect #1 was involved in a prior theft of coins at the same location on July 6th. On that date, the suspect entered the store and engaged an employee in a conversation. The suspect then reached behind the counter and successfully fled the store with a tray of coins.

The Santa Rosa Police are still attempting to determine the identify of the remaining suspect. A reward of up to $2,500 is being offered by the Sonoma County Alliance “Take Back Our Community Program.” The reward is for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects involved in this robbery.

Anyone with information can call Santa Rosa Police Department Gang Crimes Investigations Team at (707) 543-3670.