Mistaken ID leads to Anderson student’s beating, robbery

May 16, 2020 Trevor Montgomery

ANDERSON, Calif. — Authorities say mistaken identity led to the arrest of an Anderson man after he allegedly attacked and robbed a 19-year-old North Valley High School student outside the school’s campus Thursday morning, May 14.

Officials have since reported the alleged suspect violently attacked and robbed the student – punching and kicking the teen after knocking him to the ground and stealing the victim’s wallet – after mistaking the teen for someone he was having an ongoing disagreement with.

LEADING THE SCNS HEADLINES:
“Now is the time to support people’s freedom to work,” Assemblywoman Dahle says of Governor’s revised budget
SERVPRO offers decontamination services to local PD as COVID-19 crisis continues
Citizen credited with saving trio from Sacramento River

Anderson police officers were alerted to the incident around 10:30 a.m., after receiving a call reporting a student who had been beaten and robbed, Anderson PD has since reported.

Officers who investigated the incident learned the student, who has not been publicly identified, was walking to the school in the area of South and Douglas streets when a black Saab with two occupants pulled up behind him.

Officials say Dylan Graham, 21, of Anderson attacked and robbed a student as he walked to school Thursday morning. APD photo

A man, since identified as Dylan Wayne Graham, a 21-year-old Anderson resident, exited the front passenger seat of the vehicle and began punching the victim in the face, knocking him to the ground.

“Graham then kicked the student while he was on the ground and stole the student’s wallet,” described officials.

A North Valley High School employee witnessed the attack and came to the student’s aid, transporting him back to the school.

The victim later told investigators he had never seen Graham before and did nothing to provoke the beating and robbery.

During their subsequent investigation, officers located a nearby business that was able to provide surveillance footage of the incident, which confirmed the victim’s account of the attack and that the attack was unprovoked.

The surveillance footage was also instrumental in helping officials identify the suspect vehicle as well as the people who were in the car when the attack occurred, according to officers who recognized the Saab as belonging to an Anderson felony probationer.

After locating and detaining Graham, investigators learned the alleged suspect believed the student “was someone he was having altercations with,” according to officials, who said after beating the student and stealing his wallet Graham learned he had attacked the wrong person.

The victim was later able to positively identify Graham from a photo lineup.

Based on their investigation, officers arrested Graham and he was later booked into Shasta County Jail in Redding on suspicion of robbery and battery.

Online jail records indicate Graham remains in custody, in lieu of $100,000 bail or bond.

This article sponsored by:

For more information about Junior’s Westside Auto Sales visit them on Facebook or online.

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 48, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta 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, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s 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.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 29 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 16 grandchildren.