Oakdale High School went into lockdown briefly on Tuesday afternoon, as officers made an arrest in connection with a pair of robberies, taking the suspect into custody a short distance from the school on West G Street.
The arrest came in connection with an ongoing investigation, according to police.
The Rite Aid Pharmacy at 1300 W. F St., Oakdale was robbed twice in the past month. The first robbery occurred on Jan. 5 and the second the night of Sunday, Feb. 3. The suspect was described as a female, armed with a handgun. The suspect was able to flee both times with cash. A witness reported seeing a white Volvo flee from the scene of the most recent robbery on Feb. 3.
While proactively patrolling in the 600 block of West G Street on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 5, at approximately 2 p.m., an officer spotted a suspicious vehicle in the alley. The officer quickly determined the vehicle to be the white Volvo related to the recent robbery. Additional officers arrived quickly and made contact with several subjects in and around the area of 646 W. G St.
Due to the close proximity to Oakdale High School, the school was locked down briefly. The contact and detention of subjects at the residence occurred safely and without further incident.
A female, identified as Vanessa Alfaro Guzman Montero, 35, along with several other subjects were detained at the scene. Guzman matched the suspect description from the Rite Aid robberies and was also found to have an arrest warrant for an additional robbery out of Modesto.
Investigators with the Oakdale Police Department obtained and served a search warrant on the residence at 646 West G and recovered items believed to be associated with the recent robberies including a semiautomatic handgun and a bundle of cash associated with the Montero subject. Detectives with the Modesto Police Department also responded to determine the existence of evidence related to the robbery that occurred in Modesto.
Montero was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on several counts of robbery related to the Rite Aid Pharmacy robberies in Oakdale and the Modesto Police Department robbery arrest warrant.
Police ask anyone with information regarding the robbery incidents to please contact Detective Don Stilwell at (209) 847-2231.
The lockdown at the school lasted for just a short time; parents received an ‘All Call’ from the school once the incident was resolved.
