Chula Vista

Two robbery suspects were arrested Monday after an eight-mile chase from Chula Vista to North Park, police reported. Two other suspects escaped.

Andrew Smith, 19, and Donald Hatcher, 19, both of Los Angeles, were booked at County Jail on suspicion of armed robbery.

Police said that four men, one armed with a shotgun, entered through the back door of the Coin Mart Jewelry on 3rd Avenue in Chula Vista at 11:30 a.m. Police were alerted by a silent alarm.

People in the store told police that the man with the shotgun order them to lie on the floor while the other men broke display cases and began taking jewelry. Police arrived just as the robbers were leaving and the men fled in a car that had been reported stolen in Los Angeles.

The suspects led police on a high-speed chase to University Avenue and 39th Street in North Park, where the robbers abandoned their vehicle and fled on foot, police said.

During the chase, the robbers reportedly threw jewelry along the freeway. Some of the jewelry was recovered by officers, police said.

Police closed off the area bounded by 46th, 40th and Whitman streets and El Cajon Boulevard. The area was then searched by more than 30 officers from Chula Vista and San Diego. They were assisted in the search by helicopters and police dogs.

Smith and Hatcher were taken into custody on 36th Street near University Avenue. The search was called off about 3 p.m. The other two robbers are escaped. Police said they recovered a shotgun and a pistol during the search.