Second Arrest in Pepper-Spray Shoplifting

After an investigation at a rental-car outlet near the Oakland airport, Walnut Creek have arrested a man they said was an accomplice at

The Saturday incident was notable for citizen Nordstrom shoppers resisting a suspect's use of pepper spray and holding him until security arrived. That suspect, 42-year-old Bryan Black of Oakland, and a female accomplice who remains at large, tried to run out of Nordstrom with $10,000 worth of pricy purses, police said.

A man entering the store at the time tried to stop Black and was pepper-sprayed, said Walnut Creek Police Sgt. Tom Cashion. Another shopper held Black as he tried to dash to the getaway car and also got pepper-sprayed, but he was able to strike Black several times in self defense, and a security guard and other citizens came to hold Black for police, Cashion said.

The getaway car had paper dealer plates on it. "Oftentimes criminals will rent cars to do their criminal acts," wrote Cashion in an email. "In this case they put paper dealer plates on the vehicle to conceal their identity even more."

With the evidence from the rental-car company, police on Monday arrested Roger Phillip Moss, 51, of Oakland. He returned the beige Ford Fusion to the rental-car outlet on Monday morning, Cashion said.

Oakland and Walnut Creek police have collaborated on a probation search connected with the case. "No arrests were made and the investigation continues," said Cashion. "We are still aggressively working the case and we hope to have more people involved to be arrested soon."