A former UCLA running back was arrested on Friday on felony charges of attempted murder and attempted robbery stemming from a robbery gone wrong at a Jurupa Valley marijuana dispensary in 2016.
Riverside County prosecutors say Craig Anthonty Lee, 23, and at least two other men entered Kings Palace Marijuana Dispensary on June 30, 2016 and attempted to rob the store.
At some point during the incident, court records say one of the men shot a store employee. A security guard then opened fire on them, and the men fled the store.
The employee was taken to Loma Linda Medical Center. Nothing of value was stolen from the shop.
Court documents say the two men are seen in security footage entering the shop and shooting the employee, with Lee behind. Lee fled the scene as soon as the shooting started.
Months later, investigators spoke to someone who is “good friends” with Lee, who told them Lee’s job was to “grab drugs and money and run.”
Authorities issued a warrant for Lee’s arrest last month. He was taken into custody on Friday.
Lee’s bail is set at $1 million. He is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.
Lee was a top high school recruit from Redlands High School who played for UCLA from 2013 until 2015, when he was released after having academic issues, Redlands Daily Facts reported.
His family has set up a GoFundMe page for legal expenses.
“Anyone that knows Craig should know pulling a gun on someone with intentions to murder them is not in his character,” his family wrote on GoFundMe. “He has been an upstanding hard working young man his entire life with no prior arrests or convictions.”
