SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Santa Maria Police arrested Phillip Craig Bailey, after he allegedly robbed a bank and stole an officer's car, crashing and injuring several people.
Here is a timeline of the crime from the Santa Maria Police Department:
This is an update to the information disseminated by Lt. Come at the press conference earlier this afternoon. After further investigation, a clear timeline of events have been established. The sequence of events is as follows:
On Saturday, August 11, 2012, at about 1256 hours, SMPD Officers responded to Chase Bank, located at 1846 N. Broadway, to a report of a robbery in progress. The suspect, later identified by witnesses as Phillip Craig Bailey, entered the bank and contacted one of the workers. After physically assaulting and threatening the employee, Bailey demanded money. Bank personal complied and gave Bailey an undisclosed amount of money. Bailey then fled the bank on foot.
After fleeing the bank, Bailey was observed by a witness getting into the bed of a Red Chevy Silverado pickup near the intersection of Taylor and Broadway. The vehicle was last seen headed southbound on Broadway.
At about 1305 hours, Bailey attempted to carjack a young female in the area of Pine and Donovan. After physically assaulting the female, two citizens intervened and attempted to detain Bailey, but he managed to break free.
Immediately after running from the two witnesses, Bailey ran up to a red Jeep Cherokee that was headed westbound on Donovan Road, near Pine Street. Bailey attempted to get into the driver's side door; however, the driver of the vehicle began to drive away from the scene. As the driver did so, Bailey grabbed onto the vehicle and held on as the driver tried to get away. Once at Donovan and Thornburg, Bailey let go of the Jeep and charged after a Santa Maria Police Officer, who was headed toward the bank robbery, but was diverted to a citizen's report of a fight at Pine and Donovan.
As the officer got out of his patrol car, Bailey let go of the Jeep and charged after the officer. A struggle ensued between the officer and Bailey, at which time the officer utilized various force options, which did not seem to have an affect on the suspect. During the altercation, money flew out of Bailey's clothing. Despite the officer's attempts to subdue Bailey, he (Bailey) was able to get away from the officer. Bailey got into the driver's seat of the officer's marked patrol car. The officer again engaged Bailey, which seemed to have no effect. With the officer reaching into the car, in an attempt to take Bailey into custody, Bailey drove the police car away from the scene. In doing so, Bailey dragged the officer a short distance, which caused minor injury to the officer. Bailey then fled the area, headed westbound on Donovan, at a high rate of speed.
A very short time later, Bailey, while driving the Santa Maria Police car, was involved in a major injury traffic collision on Blosser Road, just south of Main Street. The result of this traffic collision was four people, to include Bailey, were sent to the Marian Medical Center with injuries ranging from Moderate to Major classifications. This portion of the chain of events is being investigated by the California Highway Patrol. Please contact the CHP for details pertaining to the traffic collision.
Based on information provided by witnesses, it is believed that Bailey was under the influence of some type of stimulant drug. Further testing is required to make this determination.
The Santa Maria Police Department is asking for the drivers of the red colored Chevrolet Silverado (incident at Broadway and Taylor) and the red colored Jeep Cherokee (incident at Donovan and Pine) to please come forward with any information they may have related to this incident. It is believed they are possible victims. These individuals, as well as anyone else with information related to this investigation, are urged to contact the Santa Maria Police Department at (805)928-3781, ext. 277.
At this time, suspect Phillip Bailey is receiving medical treatment at an out of the area hospital. Once medically cleared, Bailey is going to be booked on a variety of criminal charges to include Bank Robbery, Attempt Murder of a Peace Officer, Kidnapping, Carjacking, Attempted Carjacking, and Criminal Threats. This incident remains under investigation.
