Petaluma, Santa Rosa Ulta stores robbed, security guards assaulted; 5 arrested after ramming police car

PETALUMA — Five suspects were arrested on Monday on suspicion of robbing two Ulta Beauty stores of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise and leading law enforcement on a vehicle and foot chase, the Petaluma Police Department said.

Petaluma Police received a call at 7:02 p.m. on Monday regarding a robbery at the Ulta Beauty store at 401 Kenilworth Dr. Officers learned that five suspects had entered the store and filled large bags with fragrances. When store security attempted to intervene, they were allegedly assaulted by one of the suspects. The suspects fled the store with the merchandise and got into a newer white Range Rover with tinted windows, police said.

The vehicle was not located but a broadcast went out to local law enforcement.

At 7:26 p.m., an Ulta Beauty store in Santa Rosa reported a similar robbery at its 2080 Santa Rosa Ave location. During the robbery, a suspect allegedly punched and threatened the security guard. Police say that the thieves fled in the same vehicle described in the previous robbery; the Range Rover had the wrong plates on it and was stolen, police said.

A Santa Rosa police officer spotted the Range Rover traveling southbound on Interstate Highway 101 and the California Highway Patrol followed the vehicle as it entered the Petaluma city limits. CHP attempted to make a traffic stop but the Range Rover failed to yield, the agency said. The vehicle took the Lakewood offramp and Petaluma Police entered the pursuit to assist.

The Range Rover eventually entered the RiverFront Community but the area has no outlet. In an attempt to backtrack, the vehicle rammed into an occupied Petaluma Police vehicle, which caused major damage to the front of the suspects’ vehicle and deflated a tire.

The car came to a stop on Hopper Street and the suspects exited the vehicle and fled, with four of the five suspects jumping a fence and running over railroad tracks and toward the fence line of an adjacent business.

Police employed a K-9 unit that hopped the fence and made contact with two of the suspects, which were taken into custody. A third suspect was apprehended before jumping the fence. The fourth suspect hid on a roof but was apprehended. The fifth suspect led officers on a foot chase but gave up and was arrested.

One of the suspects was treated for dog bite puncture wounds and released, the other suspect only sustained damage to his clothing, police said.

Joshua Wilson, 21, of San Jose was identified as being the alleged driver of the Range Rover. The other suspects are Dwayne Huntly, 20, of Hayward; Dejorna Whitney, 19, of Richmond, and two minors aged 15 and 16 from San Francisco and Oakland.

Police allege that Wilson provided a false name upon arrest and had three outstanding warrants in three counties: Sonoma, Contra Costa and Santa Clara. His warrants were related to theft, resisting arrest and providing false identification to a police officer. Police also allege that one minor and Huntly also provided false names. The second minor suspect allegedly tried to escape their handcuffs and kicked an officer.

Thousands of dollars worth of beauty products were allegedly found in the Range Rover, police said.

Four officers received minor injuries during the altercations.

Five suspects were arrested after Ulta Beauty store robberies on August 22, 2022 in Petaluma and Santa Rosa, Calif. The suspects eventually rammed a Petaluma Police vehicle with the Range Rover they were driving. (Petaluma PD via BCN)