At least the 19th arrest, 13th by Antioch PD since 2014 for 37-year-old Robert Lay

By Allen D. Payton

In response to a resident witnessing police action on Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 27, 2026, Antioch Police Lt. Michael Mellone of the Field Services Division explained, a “traffic stop for a red light turned into an arrest for meth possession and driving on a suspended license.”

The incident occurred in the parking lot of the Hillcrest Crossings Shopping Center, off Deer Valley Road, between the Safeway gas station and Taco Bell.

Police arrested Robert Anthony Lay, a 37-year-old male from Antioch, Mellone shared.

According to the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, born 11/16/1988, the six-foot, two-inch tall, 200-pound suspect was arrested at 1:27 p.m., is Hispanic but also listed as White, and is being held in the West County Detention Facility on no bail.

According to localcrimenews.com, it’s at least the 19th time Lay has been arrested since 2014 and 13 of those were by Antioch Police. He faced charges for hit-and-run, vehicle theft, possession of burglar’s tools, conspiracy to commit a crime, vandalism and multiple charges of receiving stolen property – motor vehicle, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license for drunk driving, possession of a controlled substance, including for sale and bringing a controlled substance into a prison, plus, possession of drug paraphernalia and revocation of probation.

According to the Herald’s archives, – On 10/5/2015 at 5:10 p.m., an officer was patrolling near Lemontree and Peppertree Way and saw 26-year-old Robert Lay driving recklessly though the area. Lay continued to drive erratically while the officer attempted to catch up to him. Lay hit a parked car and eventually pulled into the 76 gas station on Contra Loma Blvd. Officers made contact with Lay and detained him. A records check revealed he had an outstanding felony arrest warrant for the charge of possession of stolen property. Lay was arrested for the warrant, hit and run and reckless driving. Lay’s vehicle was impounded and he was booked at the county jail.

The Herald thanks the resident for the photo of the scene and information about the arrest.

the attachments to this post:

APD traffic stop meth arrest 01-27-26 resident

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 29th, 2026 at 7:30 am and is filed under Drugs, News, Police & Crime. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.