Robbery Suspects : 2 Held After Wrong-Way Auto Chase

A woman six or seven months pregnant and a man were captured by police they had led on a chase the wrong way down the Santa Ana Freeway Wednesday night after allegedly robbing a Thrifty Drug Store, Buena Park police said.

They made a U-turn on the freeway and then passed about 200 cars as they sped south in the northbound lanes for a mile before abandoning their car and trying to flee into a residential neighborhood, Officer Terry Branum said.

No accidents occurred and no one was injured during the wrong-way chase, Branum said.

FBI Warrant Discovered

The woman, who was quickly caught, was identified as Nieves Shirley Ann Martinez, 28, of East Los Angeles. Police discovered that an FBI warrant had been issued for her in Virginia for alleged parole violation in connection with a bank robbery.

Rudy Joel Nava Jr., 25, of East Los Angeles was found, with the help of a Fullerton police dog, hiding under a house a short time after the woman was captured, Branum said.

The chase began about 8:30 p.m. after a woman went to the photography counter in the Thrifty Drug Store at 8998 Knott Ave., asked about a camera and then showed employees that she had a pistol and demanded money from the cash register, Branum said. She got about $100, ordered employees to walk to the back of the store, then ran out the front, he said. One employee gave police a description of the getaway car.

An officer first spotted the car heading north on Beach Boulevard near Movieland Wax Museum, Branum said. A second officer saw it in front of the city civic center on Beach Boulevard just north of Orangethorpe Avenue.

Car Enters Freeway

The second officer tried to stop the car, but it speeded up, headed west on Manchester Avenue and then entered the Santa Ana Freeway northbound lanes, Branum said.

The car traveled north about 200 feet before it made the U-turn and headed south at about 55 m.p.h. in the northbound lanes, dodging cars as they approached, Branum said.

A police unit, with red lights flashing, drove against traffic on the freeway center divider to warn drivers of the danger, Branum said.

After about a mile, the getaway car pulled off to the side, and the two ran up an embankment, jumped a fence and tried to hide in a residential neighborhood.

They were booked into Orange County Jail on suspicion of armed robbery; bail was set at $50,000 each.