Police: Shoplifting suspect flees after scuffling with off-duty officer, but later returns
Photos: Sonora PD
Two men have been arrested in Sonora after allegedly shoplifting and later scuffling with an off-duty officer who intervened.
Around 3 PM on July 1, an employee at a business on the 600 block of S. Washington Street approached an off-duty officer and asked for his help with a man believed to have just shoplifted from the business. The two approached the man, identified as 29-year-old Justine Olkerill, as he stood by his vehicle.
The officer identified himself as such and displayed his credentials to both Olkerill and a second suspect — 22-year-old Michael Martin — who had just walked out of the business as the scene was unfolding.
Olkerill reportedly refused to follow the officer’s verbal commands, with Martin trying to step between the two of them. The officer and Olkerill scuffled before Olkerill managed to get into the car and put it in reverse, dragging the officer a short distance until he managed to free himself, and ultimately fled the scene. Police said in a statement that the officer sustained only minor injuries.
Uniformed officers responded to the scene and arrested Martin for resisting, obstructing, and delaying a peace officer. Olkerill later returned to the scene, for some reason, and was promptly arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and shoplifting.
