Father-son duo robbed 18 Trader Joe’s stores at gunpoint in California, FBI agent says
A man and his son have been accused of robbing 18 Trader Joe’s grocery stores in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside counties this year.
Gregory Johnson and his son Gregory Eric Johnson are accused of robbing Trader Joe’s stores at gunpoint and demanding employees fill a backpack with money, according to a criminal complaint filed by an FBI agent.
According to the complaint, a witness saw the older Johnson getting into a silver Toyota Highlander allegedly being driven by his son after reportedly robbing a store in Chino Hills on Dec. 4. The witness gave law enforcement description of the car and police conducted a traffic stop, noticing that Johnson was wearing the same blue sweatshirt as the robbery suspect, according to the complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court.
Police arrested the duo and searched the car, finding a loaded semiautomatic handgun, a bag with more than $3,800 inside, and a sweatshirt they identified as belonging to the suspect during a Nov. 27 robbery in Santa Ana, according to the complaint.
The two are suspected of committing 20 robberies at 17 other Trader Joe’s stores between Aug. 28 and Dec. 4, resulting in a loss of around $57,000, according to the complaint. Johnson and his son are accused of robbing locations in Ranchos Palos and Brea twice and are accused of attempted robbery at a Simi Valley store on Oct. 10, in which employees didn’t comply with demands and the suspect left the store, the complaint says.
The FBI said every robbery was committed by one person with a gun, and all of them except for one happened around an hour after the store opened or an hour before it closed. The suspect was seen getting into the passenger side of the car in at least five of the robberies, indicating there was more than one person involved, the complaint says.
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 11:46 AM with the headline "Father-son duo robbed 18 Trader Joe’s stores at gunpoint in California, FBI agent says."