Man arrested near Auburn courthouse is among 4 suspects in Butte marijuana robbery
Authorities say a man apprehended Wednesday afternoon near the historic Placer Superior Courthouse in Auburn was one of four suspects in a January marijuana robbery and kidnapping in rural Northern California.
The Butte County Sheriff’s Office in a Thursday news release announced the arrest of 36-year-old Nebraska resident Robert Johnson, one of two men detained after California Highway Patrol, Placer County Sheriff’s Office and Auburn Police Department officials stopped a vehicle in Old Town Auburn, just off Interstate 80. The incident briefly closed a stretch of Lincoln Way in Auburn due to heavy law enforcement presence.
Butte sheriff’s officials issued a be-on-the-lookout alert earlier Wednesday morning for a black BMW believed to have been rented by Johnson, whom they had identified as a suspect in a Jan. 13 armed robbery in Forest Ranch, about 15 miles northeast of Chico.
The January incident involved four suspects entering a residence, robbing three victims of marijuana and cash at gunpoint and then binding the victims with duct tape, according to the news release.
One of the victims told detectives they had recently spoken with an unidentified male who lived in the Midwest about a potential marijuana transaction. Using phone records and video surveillance, detectives identified Johnson as one of the four suspects and the planner of the robbery, according to Thursday’s release.
Butte County detectives say Johnson is involved in an interstate drug trafficking organization.
“Detectives determined Johnson and his co-conspirators fly to California, obtain marijuana, and use rental vehicles to transport the marijuana to Nebraska,” the news release said. Law enforcement agencies in California and Nebraska each immediately began searching for Johnson.
Detectives then received a tip Wednesday morning that Johnson may have been seen at San Francisco International Airport, where he had rented a vehicle, and was possibly heading to Butte or Nevada County. According to the release, video surveillance showed Johnson had flown into the Reno airport and rented a vehicle a day prior to the Jan. 13 robbery.
“Detectives were concerned Johnson had traveled to California to commit another robbery,” the release said.
Officers found $28,000 worth of U.S. currency and cellphones during the traffic stop in Auburn around 12:40 p.m. Wednesday.
Johnson was booked into the Butte County jail on three counts each of robbery and kidnapping.
Authorities also detained a second Nebraska resident in Johnson’s vehicle, who was interviewed and released pending further investigation, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office says.
The three other suspects in the January robbery remain outstanding and their identities are sought, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Anyone with information related to the incident or investigation is urged to contact Detective Vaj Thao at 530-538-7671.
