BAKERSFIELD — A gunmen and his female sidekick were arrested on Friday afternoon for robbing a southwest Bakersfield drug store.
Orion Johnson, 47, and an unidentified female were booked into the Kern County Jail. Johnson is being charged with robbery, drugs and hit and run, while the female is being held on unrelated warrant charges.
According to Bakersfield Police police spokeswoman Michaela Sims, officers were dispatched to a call at a Rite Aid located at 8000 White Lane regarding an assault with a firearm, at about 2 p.m. on Jan 24.
“When officers arrived they were told that a male suspect approached a store employee armed with a firearm that was wrapped in a towel,” Sims said. “The suspect then demanded money from the employee and fled the store.”
During their investigation, police received a report of a hit and run traffic collision that had just occurred in the parking lot of the same Rite Aid, and according to witnesses the vehicle matched the description of the getaway vehicle used by Johnson. Around 15 minutes later, a Bakersfield police officer located a vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle parked in the driveway of a residence located in the 6000 block of Chicory Drive.
“The officer then observed Johnson and the female who matched the description of the passenger in the hit and run., exiting the home, ” Sims said. “But they retreated back inside.” Officers eventually arrested Johnson as he exited the backyard, while the female was detained to the front of the home. A search of the residence revealed the loss taken in the robbery and a firearm, which was determined to be a replica pellet gun.
The store employee was not injured during the robbery.
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