A 36-year-old San Rafael man is in Marin County Jail after sheriff's deputies say he and two others stole nearly $4,000 in merchandise from the Safeway in Strawberry on Wednesday, July 8.
Robert Fassbender was arrested along with San Francisco residents Peter Tata, 43, and Ryan Twedell, 34, on suspicion of burglary, conspiracy and committing theft with prior convictions, Marin County Sheriff's Deputy Stephanie Ware told the Marin Independent Journal.
The three have been arrested but not formally charged. No arraignment date has been announced.
The theft happened at about 6 a.m. at the Safeway at 800 Redwood Highway Frontage Road in Strawberry, an unincorporated community near Mill Valley. The suspects fled in a vehicle after taking the merchandise, Ware said.
Deputies used the county's license plate reader camera network to determine the vehicle had traveled to San Francisco. San Francisco police located the car and detained all three suspects, according to Ware.
All three were booked into the Marin County Jail without bail.
Authorities are still searching for a fourth suspect connected to the theft, Ware said. No description of that individual has been released.
License plate reader network
The arrest involved the license plate reader network that the Marin County Board of Supervisors approved in November 2023. That vote authorized the Sheriff's Office to install cameras across the county specifically to deter and prevent retail theft, vehicle theft and theft of vehicle parts.
The cameras are part of a broader North Bay network in which law enforcement agencies can access each other's systems, according to NorCal Public Media reporting from June 2026. Agencies in the network retain plate data for about 30 days, according to that reporting.
Anyone with information about the case or the fourth suspect can contact the Marin County Sheriff's Office at 415-479-2311 or leave an anonymous tip through Marin Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
