REDDING – A man with a laundry list of offenses dating as far back as 2007 has been arrested for an armed robbery at the Redding Metro PCS store on Hilltop Drive Saturday morning.
The suspect in the robbery, 27-year-old Randall Christian Tatge of Redding, was arrested in 2007 for possession of marijuana, possession for sale, furnishing marijuana, and conspiracy, according to records. After that, however, it appears he was pretty clean until a series of arrests beginning last year. In May he was charged with public intoxication, and in December for pc 602(O) – trespassing on closed lands.
Tatge’s illegal activities increased in 2014, first in February when he was picked up on drug charges, petty theft, and resisting arrest. In that incident, according to a report in KRCR News, he had observed a woman at the AM/PM Arco station on Churn Creek Boulevard leave her car at the pump to go into the store. He grabbed her purse from the car and ran. He was chased by an employee of the gas station and got away, however, he was caught on surveillance video, and recognized. He was arrested later, and was found with methamphetamine, having already sold some of the stolen goods.
That was followed in April with a charge of narcotics possession, and in May he was arrested again for petty theft, possession of narcotics paraphernalia, and failure to appear in court.
Tatge is accused of wielding a knife to rob this Hilltop drive Metro PCS store.
Last Saturday, June 28, Redding police received a call at 11:52 am from the Metro PCS store at 2209 Hilltop drive. According to a press release, the caller reported an armed robbery at the store. Officers responding to the scene interviewed the staff, and found the suspect had used a knife to threaten an employee and had taken store merchandise. When the employee described the robber, he matched the description of Tatge, and the investigation focused on him as the primary suspect.
They began a search of the immediate area, calling in a Highway Patrol helicopter for assistance. Within the hour, Tatge was located at Churn Creek and Mistletoe, near the same Arco station where he had snatched the purse in February. He was taken into custody without incident, and merchandise from the cell phone store was recovered. He was booked into Shasta County Jail for robbery, and bail was set at $50,000.
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