Tracking device in stolen marijuana container leads East Bay police to arrest two suspected of robbing dispensary driver

HERCULES — A man and woman suspected in the robbery of a cannabis dispensary in Modesto were tracked with a device inside a stolen marijuana container, and eventually arrested by Hercules police officers on Sunday, authorities said.

Officers found a handgun, a knife, a ski mask and several bags of marijuana bearing the name of the Modesto dispensary and the stolen tracking device when they made the arrest, police said.

One of the suspects was arrested on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a gun and being a felon in possession of ammunition, police said. Both were arrested on suspicion of possessing a gun with prior drug convictions; possession of a gun with prior convictions of crimes against persons; possession of a concealed gun in a vehicle; and possession of a counterfeit driver’s license, police said.

Hercules officers were called to a Chase bank in the 4000 block of San Pablo Avenue for a report of an armed robbery suspect from an incident in another jurisdiction that was parked in front of the bank.

According to police, the reporting party told them she owned a Modesto dispensary and that one of its 25-year-old drivers was robbed and assaulted at gunpoint and knife point at about 5 p.m. Saturday. A device inside one of the containers allowed the dispensary owner to track the stolen items to a white Toyota Highlander at the bank.

When officers arrived, they detained the two suspects and searched the vehicle. Police said the gun was reported stolen out of Mississippi and found in the woman’s purse.

The robbery victim later came to the scene and identified the two as the ones who attacked him.