Armed Robber, Security Guard Who Helped Him, Arrested: Concord PD

CONCORD, CA — A San Francisco parolee who is accused of robbing a Concord arcade and bowling alley and a Vacaville parolee who was working as a security guard when the robbery was carried out are being held on $100-million bail combined in what may be a Contra Costa County record.

According to Concord police, Vincent Timmons, 37, of San Francisco, and another unidentified suspect wore masks as they forced employees of Round 1, 185 Sun Valley Mall, into a locked cash room at gunpoint. The victims' hands were zip-tied behind their backs and cash was stolen, police said.

One of the employees was able to free herself and she called for help, police said. Numerous officers responded to the call about an armed robbery in progress, said Concord police Cpl. Summer Galer.

Officers cleared everyone out of the indoor entertainment venue but the robbers were not immediately found, Galer said.

Police determined the robbers entered the business through an employee entrance that is usually locked, spurring a two-month investigation.

"Detectives uncovered a conspiracy involving Round 1 security guard Gary Dillahunty, who was working the night of and facilitated the robbery," Galer said. "Detectives also identified 37-year -old Vincent Timmons as one of the suspects who committed the robbery."

A warrant was served last week at Timmons’ home in San Francisco, where Galer said evidence linking Timmons to the Round 1 robbery was found, as well as an illegal assault weapon, a hand gun, and a large quantity of cocaine.

Timmons, who is on parole for kidnapping, was arrested in connection with the Round 1 robbery, according to police.

Dillahunty, who is on parole for assault with a deadly weapon, was arrested Tuesday at a home in Vacaville with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service, Galer said.

Police accuse Dillahunty, 43, of facilitating the robbery as part of a criminal conspiracy.

"The security guards working at Round 1 at the time of this robbery were employed by an outside
security contractor," Galer said. "This information is being shared with the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, a regulator of the private security industry."

The third suspect, who has not yet been identified in court records, remains at large.

Timmons and Dillahunty have pleaded not guilty, but Timmons' bail has been set at more than $70 million and Dillahunty's is over $40 million. Figures about record-high bail amounts set in Contra Costa County were not readily available Wednesday, but those sums are not typical.

Tiffany Li, who is facing murder charges in San Mateo County, made national headlines in 2017 when she posted $35 million bail -- but she's a wealthy heiress with overseas connections and prosecutors argued she could present a flight risk.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe commented at the time that it was the highest bail on record in San Mateo County and possibly the highest ever in California.

White-collar criminal Bernie Madoff, who famously confessed to his role in a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme in 2009, initially had his bail set at just $10 million.

A spokesman for Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton declined to comment on the unusually high bail amount, and officials with Contra Costa County Superior Court did not immediately respond to a request for information Wednesday, but a spokeswoman for the Concord Police Department said Timmons' and Dillahunty's bail amounts reflect the charges and enhancements alleged as well as the defendants' criminal histories.

Both men are charged with kidnapping to commit another crime, a $1 million offense, according to a 2018 bail schedule available online at https://bit.ly/30TgmOF. Bail for second-degree robbery, which both men are also charged with, is $50,000.

But there are special allegations that they used a firearm in the commission of a gang-related offense, as well as something called "street terrorism," which involves a prison gang and carries a potential life sentence.

Despite the serious nature of the allegations, the case is taking place against the backdrop of a statewide bail reform movement, driven in large part by the late San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi, who announced plans to challenge bail in every single criminal case that went
through his office and ultimately changed the legal landscape as a result of the ensuing court battle.

A law abolishing California's cash-bail system and replacing it with a risk-assessment system evaluating the threat to public safety posed by individual defendants was signed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018.

It was scheduled to go into effect Oct. 1, 2019, but its implementation was put on hold due to a referendum challenging it at the ballot box in November 2020.

A bail-bonds trade association known as the American Bail Coalition has called the change reckless and argued that abolishing cash bail could result in the release of dangerous criminals.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California countered, arguing that the bail industry has made millions off the backs of desperate families, including those impacted by racial and socioeconomic inequities inherent to the American criminal justice system.

In their initial court appearances, Timmons and Dillahunty were represented by lawyers from the Office of the Public Defender and the Alternate Defender Office, respectively. It's not yet clear which attorney will represent them when they return to court for a preliminary hearing on
Aug. 2, so there was nobody available to comment on their behalf.

Both men declined requests for a jailhouse interview Wednesday afternoon, according to a spokesman for the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office.

—Dave Brooksher of Bay City News Service contributed to this report.