Police nab robbery suspect

A Man suspected of robbery sits in the back of a Placerville Police car after being apprehended at gun point in front of Grocery Outlet on Broadway in Placerville Saturday September 15. According to police scanner traffic, the man lived in a homeless camp in the woods behind the Dollar Tree store on Broadway. Democrat photo by Pat Dollins

A robbery suspect who had been harassing a woman in an attempt to get her to date him was arrested as he attempted to flee from police on Sept. 15 in Placerville.

Teresa Woody of Placerville woke up on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. to find Joshua Connolly, 34, standing in her bedroom, said Capt. Mike Scott of the Placerville Police Department. She knew him as he had been harassing her, Scott said, for a week. He had insisted they become boyfriend and girlfriend, but Woody had declined.

Connolly had Woody’s cell phone, clothes and cell phone charger. She yelled at him to get out of her house. “He then said something to the effect of “I’ll bust you, fool,” Scott said, before he made a move to leave the residence.

Woody followed as he left. Connolly began circling Woody’s car, and she believed he had her keys. As he got into the car, an altercation began. Connolly grabbed Woody by the throat and threatened to kill her. He let her go and began leaving, but told Woody that “she would be dead by tonight,” Scott said.

A witness to the event yelled that she was calling police and Connolly fled.

Connolly had previously threatened Woody’s life a week prior to the robbery. Woody was in the Dollar Tree parking lot when she was accosted by Connolly. The wannabe lover pulled a silver handgun on his hopefully soon-to-be girlfriend, saying that if she would not agree to be his girlfriend, he would kill her. She responded by telling him to do it. “He told her that it was lucky there were too many people around,” Scott said.

Woody, according to the police report, was scared of and felt threatened by Connolly, and that he could carry out his threats.

After the alleged robbery, PPD requested assistance from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office. Connolly had been spotted in a tent in a camp above the Dollar Tree on a hilltop. He was spotted coming out of the trees, before disappearing for 10 minutes. He then made his way down the path to the Dollar Tree parking lot, but before arriving, fled into the trees. Officers went to the east end of the parking lot, where he was observed walking down a trail. He got on a bicycle and went westbound through the parking lot, attempting to flee.

Officers were able to catch Connolly in the parking lot, where they allegedly found some of Woody’s property on him. He was booked into county jail, where he was being held as of Tuesday morning on $130,000 bail on charges of robbery, making criminal threats with the intention of terrorizing and three enhancements of prior felonies, prior felonies with prison time and being on misdemeanor probation at the time of the alleged crime.

Cole Mayer

Cole Mayer started writing for the Mountain Democrat in early 2012. He has written news, features and opinions in the past, and currently works the crime, court and fire beat.

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