Suspects Follow Cash Couriers From Oakland To San Mateo In Apparent Robbery Attempt: Police

OAKLAND, CA — Police arrested four people Thursday after a group carrying a large amount of cash was followed from Oakland to San Mateo in what investigators believed may have been an attempted robbery.

The investigation began around 3:36 p.m. when three people arrived at the San Mateo Police Department and reported they had been followed by a black Audi SUV.

The trio had picked up a large amount of cash from an Oakland cannabis dispensary as payment for their cannabis equipment supply company and planned to deposit it at a bank in the San Francisco area, police said.

They noticed the Audi following them from Oakland into San Mateo and, fearing its occupants intended to rob them, pulled into the police station. The Audi drove away.

Police issued an alert for the vehicle, citing similarities to previous robberies in which people associated with cannabis dispensaries were targeted for cash or merchandise.

An officer later spotted the Audi traveling east on Highway 92 toward the San Mateo Bridge.

Police and the California Highway Patrol attempted to stop it in Hayward, but the driver made unsafe maneuvers and accelerated despite heavy traffic, police said.

Officers ended the pursuit because of the danger to the public, police said.

Authorities later learned that the Audi had been abandoned beneath a freeway overpass in Oakland and its occupants had gotten into a black Mercedes driven by another person.

The Mercedes was eventually stopped near Interstate 880 and Powell Street, where four people were detained.

Giovante Warren, 30, and Imara Hutton, 26, both of Fairfield, and Kwesi Guss, 25, of Richmond, were arrested on suspicion of felony evading with wanton disregard for public safety.

Brian Davis, 26, of Redwood City, was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory after the fact.

All four were booked into Santa Rita Jail, police said.

Police did not announce any robbery charges in connection with the incident.