GRASS VALLEY, Calif. January 3, 2017 – On Monday, January 2, at 12:45 pm, 2 unknown masked subjects entered the Hot Spot Smoke Shop on Colfax Ave, armed with handguns. The suspects demanded money and were given an undisclosed amount of cash from the register. They also stole some electronic items from the store before fleeing in a van that had been stolen from a local glass company. As officers responded to the scene, they located the abandoned van a few blocks from where the robbery occurred. Detectives were able to locate video surveillance of the 2 suspects from a nearby business they had entered earlier in the day. Clear images of the 2 suspects and a 3rd individual were obtained and circulated to local law enforcement personnel.
This morning, Grass Valley Police received a report that a white box-truck was just stolen from a graphics company on Springhill Drive in Grass Valley. Today, just after 12:00 noon, a detective spotted the suspects from the robbery leaving a gas station on McKnight Way in the stolen box-truck. Grass Valley Officers attempted to stop the box-truck but it did not yield and fled westbound on Hwy 20 towards Penn Valley.
The pursuit continued all the way to the Marysville area where the box-truck headed southbound on Hwy 70 towards Sacramento. CHP took over as the lead agency in the pursuit. At times, the box-truck was traveling at high speeds and in the opposing lane of traffic of the divided highway.
A CHP helicopter assisted with the pursuit that continued onto southbound Hwy 99 and then to southbound Hwy 5. Just prior to the I80 interchange, the box-truck exited onto Truxel Road where Sacramento PD Units assisted as well. The box-truck then became disabled on Truxel Road near San Juan Road.
The suspects fled on foot. At this time 2 have been taken into custody by officers. They will be transported back to Nevada County and booked into the Nevada County jail. The 3rd suspect is still be sought. The 2 in custody suspects have been identified as:
Joseph Daniel Sandoval – 3l years old from Hayward, CA
James Edwin Sandoval lll – 32 years old from Hayward, CA
Wow!! time to outlaw all banks and smoke shops along with dispensaries cause armed robberies might happen! Oh and bars too since the police blotter is full of crime from those bar hoppers! LOLZ – I couldn’t resist 😉
In all fairness, it should be noted that the 10 police cars that I personally saw chasing the suspects sped in absolute safety & in total consideration for all of us on Hwy 20 during this high speed chase. I know, as I was smack dab in the middle of the whole thing on my way from the Smartsville area to Grass Valley. I commend them wholehearted for their superb effort.
Way to go GV Police Dept! John Foster for Sheriff 2018!