Police: Bystander rammed car into Bay Area jewelry store to block armed robbers ...Middle East

A man who rammed a vehicle into the front of a Petaluma jewelry store Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, was attempting to thwart a robbery, according to police.

Related Articles

The robbery at Gold Rush Jewelers at 385 South McDowell Blvd. was reported about 4:46 p.m. Saturday to Petaluma police, the agency said. According to a preliminary investigation, six people wearing ski masks entered the store armed with hammers, pepper spray and at least one gun. One person held the four employees at gunpoint while the others smashed the display cases and removed jewelry.

A male bystander who happened upon the scene got into the suspects’ idling vehicle and slammed it into the business, damaging a roll-up door and some windows, Sgt. Ryan McGreevy said Tuesday. The man later told police that he had been trying to block the robbers inside.

McGreevy said the man’s method was “unorthodox,” but he is not suspected of any criminal charges.

The crash prompted the robbers to flee — four into the vehicle that had been rammed into the store and two on foot into a neighborhood across South McDowell Boulevard. One of the suspected robbers pepper-sprayed the bystander as he tried to get out of the car, police said.

With the assistance of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s helicopter Henry-1, officers later found the men they said fled on foot. One was spotted jumping down from a rooftop and trying to hide under a vehicle while the other was later seen sitting in a backyard, police said.

William Clarance Butler of Pittsburg and Mosha’e Koron Howell of Antioch were arrested and booked into the Sonoma County jail. On Monday, both of the 18-year-old men were charged in Sonoma County Superior Court with four counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy — all felonies. Both are being held without bail and set to appear Feb. 17 in court.

On Saturday, police also located a bag of jewelry between the store and the neighborhood where the two men had fled, McGreevy said Tuesday. The owner of the store is still determining how many pieces of jewelry were taken during the robbery and the value of those items.

The vehicle in which the other four robbers fled the jewelry store was found abandoned in a nearby neighborhood and authorities later determined it had been stolen in Brentwood. Authorities, including a K9 unit, searched for hours for the other four individuals to no avail. As of Tuesday, authorities have not identified the four robbers or located the gun used in the robbery.

None of the jewelry store employees were injured but told police they were emotionally shaken after the robbery.

Petaluma police are asking that anyone with information, including security camera footage, contact Detective Alyssa Hansen at 707-781-1291 or [email protected].

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at [email protected]. On X (Twitter) @madi_smals.

Hence then, the article about police bystander rammed car into bay area jewelry store to block armed robbers was published today ( Wednesday 04/02/2026 - 05:51 PM ) and is available on mercury news ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.

Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Police: Bystander rammed car into Bay Area jewelry store to block armed robbers )

Also on site :

• What it takes to retire comfortably in America: Nearly $1.5 million, Northwestern Mutual says
• Numbrix 9 - April 3
• Europe’s cyber agency blames hacking gangs for massive data breach and leak