OROVILLE, Calif. — Robert Johnson was arrested by Butte County Sheriff's deputies for allegedly taking part in a Forest Ranch robbery on Jan. 13. The Nebraska resident is believed to be one of four people who got into the home, held three people at gunpoint and bound them with duct tape.
After the suspects were gone, one victim was able to break free of the tape and call for help, according to police. The victims said robbers got away with a large amount of money and marijuana, police said.
On a follow up, detectives learned that one of the victims had recently spoke with a man from the Midwest about a marijuana deal. That man was later identified as Johnson. Through his phone records, detectives found that Johnson traveled from the Midwest to the Reno Airport before the robbery.
Video surveillance found during the investigation shows Johnson at the airport as well as renting a vehicle the day before the robbery.
With search warrants, detectives found additional evidence in Johnson's rental vehicle. Based on what they've found, Johnson is believed to be the person who planned the robbery.
He is also believed to be involved with a drug trafficking organization that was working to get the marijuana from the victims and transport it to Nebraska, according to detectives.
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After obtaining a warrant based on the above information, BCSO detectives reached out to law enforcement in Nebraska, who found that he was likely in San Francisco on Feb. 5, 2020. Detectives there, working on a different case, drove to the San Francisco airport to find Johnson. Upon finding out he had rented a car, the detectives feared Johnson was driving back to either Butte or Nevada Counties to commit another robbery.
By 12:40 p.m. California Highway Patrol Officers spotted the rental vehicle on Highway 80 in Placer County and, with the assistance of the Auburn Police Department, stopped the vehicle and found around $28,000 inside, along with several cell phones.
Johnson was arrested and booked into the Butte County Jail for three felony counts of robbery and three felony counts of kidnapping. He is required to register pursuant to the Nebraska Sex Registration Act.
Butte County Sheriff's Detectives are now working with Nebraska law enforcement to find out if his trips to California violated the Nebraska Sex Registration Act. They are still working to determine the identities of the threes others involved in the Jan. 13 robbery.
And a second man in the car with Johnson on Feb. 5 was released pending investigation.
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