Out-of-town looters busted in ravaged Santa Rosa fire zone, police say

Santa Rosa police arrested two suspected looters in the city’s fire damaged neighborhoods on Saturday. Santa Rosa police arrested two suspected looters in the city’s fire damaged neighborhoods on Saturday. Photo: Santa Rosa Police Department / / Photo: Santa Rosa Police Department / / Image 1 of / 75 Caption Close Out-of-town looters busted in ravaged Santa Rosa fire zone, police say 1 / 75 Back to Gallery

Two out-of-town looters who tried to rip off Santa Rosa wildfire victims were arrested Saturday after being spotted loading pilfered goods into a stolen pickup truck, police said.

The suspects — identified as 31-year-old Monterey resident Johnathon Leon Lee Conner and Christina Marsh, 22, of Marina — were arrested after a high-speed police chase through the fire zone.

They were booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of seven felonies, including looting, conspiracy and vehicle theft.

Conner and Marsh were foiled after an alert citizen spotted them entering the Overlook apartments on the 200 block of Bicentennial Way around 6 p.m., Santa Rosa police said. The neighborhood was devastated when the Tubbs Fire swept through Santa Rosa early Oct. 9.

The witness watched the suspicious pair carry a flat screen TV out of an apartment and load it into a Ford truck that was later discovered to be stolen, officials said.

Arriving officers spotted the vehicle stuck in a line of cars waiting to get through a National Guard roadblock at Round Barn Circle. As the officers closed in on the truck, the driver made a quick turn and careened over the center median, police said.

With officers in pursuit, the driver fled north on Mendocino Avenue at speeds up 70 mph before turning west on Steele Lane toward the Coddingtown Mall area.

Police backed off the pursuit “due to the suspect’s wanton disregard for the public’s safety,” said Santa Rosa police Sgt. Mike Clark.

Officers followed the truck from a distance, but lost sight of it around West Steele Lane and Marlow Road. As police scoured the surrounding area, they received a call from resident that two people ditched a Ford pickup and ran near Belair Way.

That’s where officers found the truck abandoned on private property with the TV still in the bed.

Police said they soon found Conner and Marsh jumping over fences along a creek near where the truck was discovered.

Officers found additional suspected stolen property on the pair, Clark said.

Conner initially identified himself by a different name. Police later discovered that a Monterey County judge had issued an arrest warrant for him, though it wasn’t clear what the suspected crime was.

Neither suspect has any ties to Sonoma County, officials said. They are being held on $500,000 bail each.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky