Cop tricks accused robber into driving to waiting deputies, California police say

A quick-thinking California police officer duped an accused robber into driving himself to his own arrest, Redlands authorities reported.

A man robbed a 76 gas station in Redlands at 5:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 29, demanding cash and revealing a handgun in his waistband, police said in a news release.

A plainclothes Redlands officer encountered a man matching the robber’s description in the parking lot of the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, police said.

The officer, who was off-duty, realized he didn’t have the proper equipment or backup to arrest the man himself at the time, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported.

The officer asked the man for directions to the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, then persuaded him to drive there in his vehicle so the officer could follow him, the release said.

After confirming the man was a suspect in the robbery, the officer radioed Riverside County sheriff’s deputies, who pulled the man over as he approached the casino.

The 42-year-old Sun Valley man was arrested on suspicion of armed robbery, police said.

This story was originally published December 1, 2021 at 12:01 PM with the headline "Cop tricks accused robber into driving to waiting deputies, California police say."