Robbery suspect hops into police car
REDLANDS — An armed robbery suspect inadvertently got into an unmarked police car after leaving a store with unpaid merchandise. On Monday, Redlands police were still searching for a second man.
“There’s no update (on the second suspect),” said Redlands police spokesman Carl Baker.
The man in custody, who entered the Banned Skateboard Shop on 501 Orange Street, was reported to have collected a pile of clothing and head for the door without paying. When a store clerk attempted to stop him, the man lifted his shirt, revealing the handle of a handgun in his waistband.
The man left the shop heading west on Stuart Avenue holding a number of stolen shirts. The second man left the store without any merchandise and drove away in a small white car.
Redlands police detective Andy Capps drove up in his white unmarked vehicle. That’s when Joseph Manning Slater, 23, tried to get into the front seat of the car, apparently believing it was his friend’s car.
“He started to, yes,” Baker said of the sequence of events.
Slater was taken into custody without further incident. He was charged with robbery, burglary and had two outstanding warrants. All the stolen merchandise was recovered.
Police, attempting to identify the second man, put out a description as a Hispanic man in his 20s with black hair last seen wearing a black shirt, black denim pants and dark sneakers. Det. Rob Williams (909-798-7688) is heading the investigation.
