The people of Ripon weren’t going to let four robbery suspects get away.
On Tuesday Ripon police said the Walgreens on North Jack Tone Road was robbed around 7:30 p.m. and prescription drugs were taken.
Marshall Penaranda saw it happen.
He was sitting in the pharmacy drive-thru waiting on a prescription and watched the robbery through the window.
“They started making demands of them and it lasted about seven seconds,” Penaranda recalled.
His girlfriend and young daughter were inside the store at the time.
So when he saw the suspects jump into a getaway van, it felt personal and he decided to follow.
“Knowing these people are doing these things where people you love are, I don’t know if I was compelled to do it on an impulse, instinctively, I just couldn’t let them get away,” Penaranda said.
He trailed the van to a nearby neighborhood.
At the same time, he called police letting them know where the alleged thieves were traveling.
The police chief arrived within 90 seconds to find the suspects’ car on Kiwi Court.
All four suspects ran, allegedly jumping over and kicking in fences.
Kelly Blancarte came face to face with two of the suspects in her backyard.
“They were trying to figure out which way they wanted to go and I was standing right about here saying, ‘What are you doing?’ They’re telling me, ‘Be quiet, shh, be quiet’,” remembered Blancarte.
She went out her gate and waved down a nearby officer.
All four suspects were arrested within minutes of the robbery occurring.
"We have a very close relationship with our citizens and our local businesses. They know they can count on us to immediately and appropriately respond to their emergency calls for service. Ripon is a special place and it's all because of our community working together to keep Ripon safe." Department spokesperson, Lt. Steve Merchant said.
Police said the suspects include 25-year-old Justin Wayne Culpepper of Rancho Cordova, 24-year-old Maurice Anthony De Mille Bryant of Sacramento, 18-year-old Theo Lavern Simmons of Sacramento and a 17- year-old male juvenile of Sacramento.