PETALUMA – On Thursday, April 30, the Petaluma Police Department (PPD) issued a Press Release about two teens arrested for armed robbery.
At approximately 12:45 pm on Wednesday, PPD received a 911 call via department dispatchers reporting that a Petaluma CVS Pharmacy were the victim(s) of an armed robbery. The caller described the suspect as a white male, approximately 5’7” wearing a black mask. The man had displayed a white handled revolver in his waistband before he jumped the counter and took several bottles of prescription medication with codeine.
He then fled the store and was followed by another store employee until the suspect again displayed the handgun to deter the employee from following. He was last seen headed eastbound through the parking lot of the Plaza Shopping Center, toward McDowell Boulevard and Lucchesi Community Center.
A citizen in the community center parking lot saw the suspect running across McDowell Boulevard. He watched the suspect (a 17-year-old) jump into a red Toyota Camry as it was moving through the lot. The witness called 911 and reported the license plate and their observations.
Responding PPD units set up a large perimeter searching for the suspects and their vehicle. Another observant resident in the vicinity of Corona Road and Sonoma Mountain Parkway flagged down Officer Paul Accomero. The resident reported a suspicious vehicle and two occupants in a driveway just east of the intersection.
The suspects were captured near the Sonoma Mountain Parkway roundabout intersection with Corona Road.
Officer Accomero located the vehicle on Corona Road just nine minutes after the crime occurred, matching the vehicle description and license plate. He attempted to detain both suspects, but the driver failed to comply with commands and was eventually detained after being tased to subdue him.
The ensuing investigation resulted in recovery of the firearm used in the robbery, along with the black ski mask and the stolen property. The firearm was a .22 caliber revolver. Both suspects were arrested and later confessed to the crime of robbery to the department’s Investigation Unit.
The 17-year-old was transported to the Juvenile Detention Facility without bail for charges of armed robbery. The other suspect was identified as 18-year-old Antonio Reinstadler of Petaluma. He was transported to Sonoma County Jail and charged with armed robbery and is being held without bail. Investigators are comparing these two suspects to the recent string of armed robberies at other businesses in Petaluma.
Reinstadler was arrested in June of last year, having just turned 18, by Petaluma Police for disorderly conduct – loitering or prowling on private property and peeking through a window or door. He was also charged with resisting arrest and possessing a switch-blade knife. Records show he was captured at a home near Berrydale and Glenwood Drives. He lived in Rohnert Park at the time.
