Freeway pursuit ends with two men arrested on suspicion of burglary

Two men were arrested after reportedly stealing $50,000 worth of camera equipment from a Burbank store and then throwing the merchandise into the roadway during a vehicle pursuit with police.

Around 3:40 a.m. Tuesday, a patrol officer saw several people running toward a van parked in front of Wooden Camera, located on the 900 block of West Olive Avenue.

The officer made a U-turn to get a better look, but the van drove away “hastily” without its headlights on, said Burbank Police Officer Claudio Losacco.

When the officer tried to pull over the van, the driver failed to stop, and a pursuit ensued.

During the pursuit, which continued onto the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway, the people in the van began throwing the stolen property into the roadway, Losacco said.

The van exited the freeway at Van Nuys Boulevard, after which it struck a concrete median and stopped in a Walgreens parking lot, Losacco said.

Five suspects fled on foot, and two — Angel Cortes, 38, and Rolando Alcides Flores, 29 — were arrested.

Three suspects, two men and a woman, remain at large.

In the van, officers reportedly recovered stolen camera equipment, saws, a pry bar, gloves and masks, Losacco said.

All the stolen equipment appears to have been recovered from the roadway and van, Losacco said.

Cortes was arrested on suspicion of commercial burglary as well as evading and obstructing a police officer, while Flores was arrested on suspicion of commercial burglary and obstructing a police officer.

They are being held in lieu of $75,000 and $20,000 bail, respectively.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Burbank police at (818) 238-3210.