Jack in the Box drive-thru robbery suspect arrested after chase, Placer deputies say
A Grass Valley man was arrested on suspicion of leading deputies in a vehicle pursuit after stealing an iPhone from a victim waiting in his car at an Auburn Jack in the Box drive-thru, Placer County sheriff’s officials said.
Michael Wayne Flewell, 36, was arrested last week and booked on charges of robbery, evading a peace officer and delaying or obstructing a peace officer, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday. Flewell remained in custody at the Placer County Jail Monday morning with his bail amount set at $400,000, according to jail records.
The robbery occurred shortly before midnight March 23 at the Jack in the Box on Lincoln Way in Auburn. Witnesses told deputies they saw the suspect demand money from the victim who was waiting in his car at the drive-thru, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
When the victim refused the suspect’s demand, the suspect assaulted the victim, stole his iPhone and left, sheriff’s officials said. Deputies spotted the suspect vehicle heading west on Interstate 80 and pulled over the vehicle at a Chevron gas station on Penryn Road.
But the suspect then drove away and led the deputies on a pursuit south on Penryn Road, before the driver lost control and crashed near King Road, sheriff’s officials said. The driver then ran from the wrecked vehicle.
Deputies set-up a perimeter to search for the suspect. A sheriff’s helicopter and a K-9 unit joined the search, but the suspect escaped.
Shortly after 7 a.m. the following day, a sheriff’s patrol sergeant on duty in the town of Penryn spotted a suspicious-looking man walking on the side of the road. The patrol sergeant stopped to speak with the man.
The man, later identified as Flewell, gave his California identification to the sergeant. Sheriff’s officials said it was then determined Flewell was the robbery suspect who evaded capture.
Flewell was then taken into custody. Deputies recovered the victim’s iPhone and returned it to him.
