Man in custody after Walmart robbery
Officers arrested a local man after he committed a robbery at Walmart and forced his way into a families’ vehicle Friday, Jan. 4.
Alfred Willis, 40, of Susanville, was arrested and booked for robbery, child endangerment, burglary and bringing drugs into a jail.
About 8:45 p.m. Friday, officers received a call of a suspicious person, later identified as Willis, attempting to get into a vehicle in the Walmart parking lot, according to a statement from the Susanville Police Department.
The officers discovered an unknown man had forced his way into a vehicle in the parking lot and told the driver to take him to the casino. The driver stopped prior to leaving the parking lot, removed the keys from the ignition and the person got out, most likely due to the several people pointing to him while in the vehicle, the statement continued.
Through the investigation, officers revealed the man had committed a robbery at Walmart just before attempting to force the family to drive him.
The unknown man had told an employee in Walmart he was robbing them as he made the employee give him several phones from the electronics area. The victim in Walmart said the suspect held his hand inside his sweatshirt pocket and made indications he had a weapon, at one point stating, “It’s loaded.”
Officers later found a man in the DMC Mini-Mart who matched Willis’ description. One of the victims of the crimes made a positive identification that the man the officer found was the suspect.
The Susanville Police Department thanks community members for reporting suspicious behavior.
