California, San Leandro

[budman]

Article Last Updated: 08/08/2006 06:47:58 PM PDT

Police arrest suspect in deadly San Leandro pot club robbery
By Ricci Graham, STAFF WRITER
Inside Bay Area



SAN LEANDRO — A 20-year-old Oakland man whom authorities linked to a deadly takeover robbery of a cannabis club last year has been arrested on suspicion of murder and robbery, an investigator with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office said today.

Joseph McWoodson — who is being held at Santa Rita jail in Dublin on unrelated charges — will be arraigned Wednesday in Alameda County Superior Court and charged with murder in the death of Demarco Lowery, Sgt. Scott Dudek said.

Lowery was shot and killed by the owner of the now-closed A Natural Source medical marijuana dispensary after an exchange of gunfire with employees during a robbery of the business on Aug. 19, 2005.

An 18-year-old Oakland resident, Lowery was fatally shot by the owner of the club during the gun battle.

After the foiled military-style takeover, Lowery's body was dumped outside the emergency entrance of Children's Hospital Oakland about 35 minutes after the shootout.

McWoodson is the second suspect to be arrested in the brazen robbery of the dispensary, which was in the 16300 block of Foothill Boulevard in unincorporated San Leandro before it closed.

Jarrell McKneely, 19, was arrested at the scene by sheriff's deputies. McKneely has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of robbery and is awaiting sentencing.

Dudek said detectives are still gathering information on others who were involved.

"We're looking at three other people," Dudek said. "And we're anticipating an arrest of those three."

Dudek said investigators were led to McWoodson by people who weren't involved but had knowledge of the robbery. Acquaintances of Lowery and the other suspects feel that the men involved should be held to answer because of Lowery's death, Dudek said.

"The catalyst behind it is the only way justice is going to be served is if all are captured," Dudek said. "As this thing goes on, people continued to cooperate with us, because they feel everybody should be punished ... for this poorly thought-out robbery."

Ricci Graham can be reached at (510) 293-2469 or at rgraham@dailyreviewonline.com.

[budman]

Posted on Tue, Aug. 08, 2006

Second arrest made in fatal 2005 San Leandro pot club robbery

By Sophia Kazmi
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

SAN LEANDRO - The Alameda County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday the arrest of a second man involved in an August 2005 robbery and shootout at a medical marijuana dispensary in unincorporated San Leandro.

The Alameda County District Attorney's Office has filed robbery and murder charges against Joseph McWoodson, 20, who is already an inmate at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin for an unrelated incident. McWoodson is scheduled to be arraigned at 2 p.m. today in Hayward.

Sheriff's investigators believe McWoodson is part of a group involved in an armed robbery at a Natural Source on Aug. 19, 2005. About 11:30 a.m. that day, a group of armed suspects confronted the dispensary's employees as they came to work. The robbers forced the employees inside the store and took cash and marijuana-related products.

One of the store employees was able to grab a revolver kept inside the store and exchanged fire with the robbers a they fled. One of the alleged robbers was shot and later died at Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland, where he had been dropped off.

The employees also captured Jarrell McKneely, one of the alleged robbers. Last month, McKneely pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the robbery.

Witnesses came forward to help the Sheriff's Office because they were upset that 17-year-old Demarco Lowery died during the course of the robbery, said Sheriff's Sgt. Scott Dudek. Although the other robbers did not shoot Lowery, investigators say they were committing a crime that eventually led to Lowery's death. Dudek said.

The investigation is continuing to find the others involved, as many as three other people. Dudek asks anyone with information to call him at 510-667-7478 or Detective Michael Godlewski at 510-667-3655.

<hr>Sophia Kazmi covers Dublin and Castro Valley. Reach her at skazmi@cctimes.com or 925-847-2122.