Arrest warrant issued for Walnut Creek Nordstrom flash mob-style robbery suspect who posted bail

ByMelanie Woodrow KGO logo
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Arrest warrant issued for Nordstrom theft suspect who posted bail
An arrest warrant has been issued for a suspect in the Walnut Creek Nordstrom theft who was already arrested and released.

MARTINEZ, Calif. (KGO) -- An arrest warrant has been issued for a suspect in the Walnut Creek Nordstrom theft who was already arrested and released.

Dana Dawson walked out of court two weeks ago and hasn't returned since.

RELATED: Contra Costa Co. Sheriff's Office 'investigating' why Nordstrom theft suspect was released

Dawson is one of three suspects Walnut Creek police arrested in connection with the recent flash mob-style Nordstrom theft. Walnut Creek police say she used a Glock 29 9mm handgun, a violation of her parole, only Walnut Creek police officers didn't know Dawson was on parole when they arrested her.

"I don't know if it's just a system failure or just a delay in the information getting to us we're still looking into that," said Walnut Creek Police Chief Jamie Knox on Dec. 1.

Subsequently, Dawson was eligible for and posted bail.

I-TEAM: Sheriff's office admits Walnut Creek Nordstrom theft suspect released by mistake

Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office admits its a mistake after ABC7 News began digging into the release of a Walnut Creek Nordstrom theft suspect.

During her arraignment on Nov. 30, the Contra Costa County Deputy District Attorney said Dawson's parole agent was attempting to get a parole warrant signed by a judge, which would have put Dawson back in custody, but the parole agent missed doing so by about 15 minutes according to Deputy District Attorney Jordan Sanders.

"It's frustrating," said Sanders on Nov. 30.

Without that parole warrant, it was up to Dawson to return to court, which the Deputy DA tells the I-TEAM she did not do on Friday or Monday.

RELATED: 3 arrested, firearm recovered from Walnut Creek Nordstrom store burglary involving 80 people: Police

Parole has actively been trying to locate her and there's now a warrant for her arrest.

The other two suspects arrested, Joshua Underwood and Rodney Robinson appeared in court Monday. Underwood was previously mistakenly released by the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office but was taken back into custody at his November 30th court appearance.