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Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton is pressing multiple felony charges against a suspect arrested for a retail theft and two carjacking incidents in the San Ramon Valley last week, she announced Tuesday.
According to a District Attorney’s Office press release, 30-year-old Philander Johnson and two others attempted to leave the Ace Hardware store near Blackhawk with multiple power tools in hand on Nov. 24. After store staff confronted Johnson, he allegedly pulled out a knife and escaped.
Johnson then separated from the other two unidentified suspects and allegedly entered an uninvolved person’s car. Court filings said Johnson directed the driver at knifepoint to drive him away from the area.
Upon arrival in San Ramon, Johnson allegedly entered a second occupied car and threatened the driver to drive him away.
Law enforcement officers were in the area during the interaction and apprehended Johnson, according to police.
Johnson is in custody as he waits for his arraignment, the District Attorney’s Office said. He has been charged with two counts of carjacking for kidnapping, one count of robbery and one count of assault with a deadly weapon.
“This brazen crime spree is a flagrant violation of community safety,” Becton said in a statement. “My office is working in a coordinated effort with law enforcement partners throughout the Bay Area to identify perpetrators of organized retail theft. Those who engage in such criminality will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law by the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office.”
The two other suspects reportedly involved in the initial incident at Ace Hardware remain unidentified and at-large, according to authorities.
Editor’s note: DanvilleSanRamon.com editor Jeremy Walsh contributed to this story.
