Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Four alleged thieves who allegedly stole a Macy’s store in the town of Brea, Orange County, were arrested after they requested a ride-share service following a pursuit with authorities.
The alleged offenders were identified as Louie Velasco of South Gate; Jocelyn Mendoza, of Simi Valley; as well as Sherry Rogers and Marlon Deleon, both from Los Angeles.
Authorities said that at approximately 12:00 p.m. Tuesday, the thieves were observed stealing items from the Macy’s store in Brea Mall. Police said, one of the subjects had aroused suspicion, so they requested reinforcements without the alleged assailants noticing.
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When the suspects left the store and They went to a getaway vehicle, the patrols were already in the place, which led to a high-speed chase.
With the alleged robbers’ vehicle circling recklessly through the streets, officers were unable to keep up with the pursuit.
The suspects stopped their escape near Laurel Elementary School, and Thinking they had lost the police, the subjects abandoned their vehicle and ran to a dentist’s office across the street to hide..
At that moment, the suspects decided to request the service of a shared ride driver to pick them up.
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Possibly, to gain time as the driver arrived, the suspects entered the office and pretended to have a medical emergency.
The medical staff at the office commented that people came in and a woman said she was having a heart attack, so they proceeded according to emergency protocols.
However, The woman claimed to feel better and ran out the front door along with the other suspects..
The alleged thieves boarded the carpool that was already waiting for them, but moments later they were surrounded by the officerss.
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The authorities arrested all the occupants of the car. before they found out the rideshare driver was not involved in the store robbery.
Later, the rideshare driver was released.
The police said that rideshare drivers are involved in criminal incidents more often than people may think.
“It’s not uncommon for us to have that and for rideshare drivers to go through that. Obviously, it’s never a pleasant experience to have the police hold you at gunpoint and think you’re a suspect when you’re not,” said Lt. Chris Harvey of the Brea Police Department.
The suspects were put in custody of authorities and charged with multiple charges, including robbery, conspiracy and evading police.
This Tuesday, Around the time of the Macy’s robbery, Brea police received a report of an armed robbery at a nearby Wells Fargo bank.but the officers who responded to the call were unable to locate the alleged victim.
The authorities believe that the call was fabricated possibly made by the suspects in an effort to draw police officers away from the mall.
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