Two Arrested After Pointing a Gun into a Closed Barstow Smoke Shop

BARSTOW – A Moreno Valley and Los Angeles man were arrested after one of the men pointed a gun at a store clerk at the Smoked-Out Smoke Shop in Barstow on Friday. At around 3:00 a.m. officers were dispatched to the store in the 200 block of East Main Street reference the report of a man with a gun. The clerk told responding officers from the Barstow Police department that three black men came to the store and one of them pointed a gun at him. Through investigation officers learned that the men realized that the store was closed, they demanded that the clerk opened the door to let them in.

The clerk refused to let them in and one of the men went to the vehicle they were driving to get a gun. He returned and then pointed it at the clerk through the door. The store clerk took cover and called 911 to report the incident. The suspects fled in an older model red Toyota sedan eastbound on Main Street. Part of the investigation included reviewing the surveillance footage from the store cameras, providing authorities with descriptions of the three suspects. The suspect information and vehicle description and additional officers who conducted an area check. The suspect vehicle was located at around 3:35 a.m. in the area of Muriel Drive and East Virginia Way. The vehicle was stopped and the officer made contact with the occupants, Keith Smith, 19, of Moreno Valley, Tarrance Raullerson, 36, of Los Angeles, and Anthony Thompson.

The store clerk identified Smith as the suspect who pointed the fun at him. During a search of the red Toyota sedan the officers located several .25 caliber rounds inside of the vehicle. No weapon was found inside the vehicle, but during a search of the immediate area they located a .25 caliber handgun on the street. The rounds inside the handgun matched the rounds found inside the vehicle.The evidence was collected for processing. Smith was arrested and booked into the Barstow Jail for Assault with a Deadly Weapon. Raullerson was found to be a convicted felon, who was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition and was arrested for being a Felon in Possession of Ammunition and Possession of a Firearm.

Anyone with additional information regarding the investigation may contact Corporal Daniel Arthur or Officer Austyn Willis at the Barstow Police Department at (760) 256-2211. Those wishing to remain anonymous may also report criminal activity by calling the WE-Tip hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or may leave information on the We-Tip website at www.wetip.com.

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