BURNEY: Man who allegedly stole cigarettes arrested after fleeing from, fighting with deputies

BURNEY — A Burney resident was arrested after he allegedly stole cigarettes from a local business before fleeing from and then fighting with deputies. The incident and arrest happened Friday evening, Aug. 4.

Although the man initially provided a false name to the officers, saying his name was Anthony Gemmill, the alleged suspect was later identified as 36-year-old, Jake Steven Gemmill.

After an investigation, Gemmill was arrested and booked into Shasta County Jail in Redding on suspicion of resisting arrest with violence, resisting/obstructing a police officer and public intoxication.

The investigation began about 8:20 p.m., when a deputy from the Shasta County Sheriff’s Burney Sub-Station was flagged down by a person reporting a theft of merchandise from a downtown Burney area business.

The person reporting the theft told the deputy that an unknown subject had stolen cigarettes and possibly other items from the business. When confronted, the man reportedly refused to pay for or return the stolen merchandise.

The witness told the deputy he had last seen Gemmill walking eastbound on State Highway 299, away from the town’s main business district. The witness described the suspect as a Hispanic or Indian male, about 35-years-old, with a shaved head. The witness also provided the deputy with Gemmill’s clothing description.

Several other deputies responded to the area to assist in searching for the alleged cigarette thief.

SCSO radio traffic at the time indicated that just minutes after being flagged down, the deputy spotted Gemmill running behind the Burney Bowl, at 37424 State Highway 299. The deputy gave chase, assisted by other deputies who had responded to the area to assist.

When the deputies caught up with Gemmill, the fleeing man allegedly resisted arrest, fighting with the responding deputies. In spite of his resistance, the deputies quickly overpowered the combative man and managed to get him into handcuffs.

Three dozen arrests in eighteen years

Gemmill – who has had thirty-six misdemeanor and felony criminal cases filed against him in Shasta County Superior Court since 1999 – was most recently arrested earlier this year, when authorities alleged he was involved in several residential burglaries that swept through Burney on a snowy day last January.

The January incident and arrest gained county-wide attention after deputies tracked Gemmill and four other alleged burglars by following their footprints in the snow from one burglarized home to another.

Officials at the time said the five were tracked down and arrested after deputies responded to an alarm call at a private residence on Marquette Street in Burney. When deputies arrived, they discovered the home had been broken into and ransacked. Homeowners later confirmed that numerous items were stolen from the home during the burglary.

Deputies investigating the burglary searched the home and quickly determined the burglars had already left the location. During their investigation, deputies located several sets of footprints in the snow that led away from the burglarized residence.

Deputies followed the footprints from the burglarized home to another residence on Ash Avenue. Deputies discovered that home had been burglarized as well. A third burglary was later reported on nearby Fir Street, located on the opposite side of Burney Creek.

During the burglary investigation Gemmill was found in possession of property that had been stolen during the three burglaries. Although he was not ultimately charged in relation to the burglaries, he was arrested for failure to appear on a previous, unrelated case.

Deputies also arrested 28-year-old Owens Gemmill, 26-year-old Steven Arthur Scott, 23-year-old Forrest Berlt and 19-year-old Cory Murphy during the investigation. All four are Burney residents.

After the January burglary investigation and arrests, deputies said they recovered about $3,000 worth of stolen property, at least some of which was found to be in Gemmill’s possession. The recovered stolen property was eventually returned to the rightful owners, according to officials.

An online jail records search indicated Gemmill remains in custody, held on $15,000 bail. He is expected to be arraigned in Shasta County Superior Court, Monday, Aug. 7.

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News and Anza Valley Outlook and also writes for Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg and breaking his back in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.