PETALUMA – According to a Petaluma Police Department (PPD) Advisory, officers investigated an attempted armed robbery in the parking lot of a Bank of America at the Plaza North Shopping Center in the 100 block of North McDowell Boulevard on Wednesday, August 5th.
Shortly after 3 pm, a white male suspect had approached a car in the parking lot occupied by a woman and her daughter, who had just returned to their car from the ATM. The suspect demanded money and displayed a firearm. The victim fled the scene in her vehicle and the suspect fled on foot.
The Bank of America on North McDowell where the attempted robbery took place.
The suspect was last seen running to a white sedan parked in the area of Raley’s supermarket. He fled in the vehicle on North McDowell Blvd. He was described as a white male, 20 to 30 years of age and wearing dark clothing.
A second community bulletin issued Friday, August 7th indicated that the suspect had been identified. PPD detectives were conducting a follow up on the incident and located a similar license plate number provided by a witness at the scene. The license plate was linked to a white Chevrolet sedan, and 20-year-old Dylan Burr of Santa Rosa was listed as the registered owner. A search of local databases by the detectives found that Rohnert Park Public Safety Officers had towed the vehicle after Burr had been arrested on Wednesday, August 5th for DUI.
PPD detectives contacted the tow company in possession of the car and asked them to check the rear of the car for possible damage. The tow company advised that there was a piece of copper wire holding the trunk down which also matched a description provided by one of the witnesses.
Victims identified Burr in a photo lineup and independently confirmed Burr as the suspect in the attempted robbery. Burr was still in custody at the Sonoma County Jail when he was arrested for the additional charges of attempted robbery by PPD detectives. His bail for this case was set at $100,000.
Meanwhile, the Santa Rosa police have also identified Burr as the suspect, along with 20-year-old Nathan Lal, of armed robbery of both the Rohnert Park and Windsor Walmart Pharmacies, demanding prescription drugs. The pair then proceeded to rob a Walgreen’s drug store in Santa Rosa at Mission and Highway 12. Not satisfied with their first effort, they returned to the same Walgreen’s several hours later. In all four incidents, one of them either displayed a handgun tucked into his waistband, or said they had a gun.
An investigation by Santa Rosa police detectives, along with detectives from the Sonoma Sheriff’s Department and Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety, worked on several leads in the case, and served search warrants at Burr’s home on Wicket Avenue and Lal’s residence on Hopper Avenue, both in Santa Rosa. They found evidence of the robberies at both locations. Lal was arrested on Thursday, and Burr, again already in custody, had those charges added as well.
Burr is also the prime suspect in an armed robbery at the Cash Advance Store on Commerce Blvd. in Santa Rosa, where he is accused of displaying a gun and demanding cash from the clerk at the location. Anyone who has any information about these robberies, or about Burr and Lal to share is encouraged to contact the Santa Rosa Police Violent Crimes Investigation Team at 707-543-3590.
CrimeVoice Staff contributed to this story
