2 Suspects Arrested in Broadway Theft : Robbery: The men smash through the jewelry section of the South Coast Plaza store and flee with police in pursuit. They are caught after a high-speed chase.

Two men who allegedly smashed through a jewelry counter at a Broadway department store and then fled with police in pursuit were arrested after a high-speed chase along the San Diego Freeway, police said Friday.

The 9 p.m. Thursday theft at South Coast Plaza’s Crystal Court, during which two robbers allegedly used a “wooden sledgehammer” to smash glass-topped jewelry cases, was the third such attack at the shopping center this year, Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Mike Millington said.

Arrested were Eric C. Brown, 28, and Martin F. Miles, 24, both of Los Angeles. They were being held on $10,000 bail each in Costa Mesa Jail, Police Lt. Sam Cordero said. Brown and Miles will face commercial burglary charges at a Monday arraignment at Harbor Municipal Court.

Cordero said that just as employees of the Broadway at Crystal Court were about to close Thursday night, two men ran to the jewelry section with a sledgehammer and began breaking apart the glass cases.

They then fled the store with thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, jumped into a gray Buick and sped off, Cordero said. But before they left the parking lot, security guards in pursuit saw the pair abandon the Buick, jump into a tan Chevrolet and head for the San Diego Freeway.

Cordero speculated the suspects drove both cars to the parking lot and had planned to switch cars during the escape. He said both cars had been reported stolen in Los Angeles County.

“They (the suspects) apparently arrived separately,” Cordero said. “Switching cars like that is common. That’s the system.”

A police unit responding to the call chased the Chevrolet on the northbound freeway at high speeds to the Valley View exit, where the driver lost control on the off-ramp and spun to a stop.

Costa Mesa police officers quickly arrested the driver, later identified as Brown, but were unable to catch the passenger. A short time later, a Cypress police canine unit spotted a man, later identified as Miles, who matched the description provided by the South Coast Plaza security guards. He was arrested without a struggle, Cordero said.

Police said jewelry was recovered from the men.