Police left to look for other suspects in Shell robbery

With the prime suspect in last year’s armed robbery of Northgate Shell seemingly cleared by scientific evidence, police are re-opening their investigation into the brazen heist which occurred at one of the city’s busiest intersections.

‘This case has had a number of twists and turns since it happened,’ said McMinnville Police Major Bryan Denton. ‘All along we’ve been aware there may have been other people involved and we do have other persons of interest in this case.’

The former prime suspect, John Wesley Rader, 19, was allowed to enter a plea to reduced charges last week. He received a five-year sentence for facilitation of robbery and was released on time served.

Rader’s charge reduction came after the defense maintained he could not have been the robber due to his height. Public Defender Dan Bryant pointed to surveillance film which showed the robber leaving the store. In the still shot, the robber appears to stand as tall as the entry sign on the door, meaning about 5-foot-6. Bryant noted his client is over 6 feet tall and therefore could not have been the robber, this despite the fact Rader confessed to the crime in a detailed, sworn statement to police.

However, Denton pointed out Rader changed his story several times while talking to police, at one point taking the blame for the heist and at other times saying he was merely involved.

‘We know he was a participant,’ said Denton, noting the angle of the camera which captured the suspect still has not convinced some officers that Rader is not the actual robber. ‘We are going to continue to look at the case and try to develop the other people who were involved.’