The Chichi Wheel Gets the Police

It’s a lesson for criminals everywhere: Flashy getaway cars get attention.

Two men who allegedly used a stolen, white 1990 Mercedes as a getaway car after an armed robbery were arrested shortly after the holdup Sunday night when the car was spotted by San Diego police minutes later.

Two men entered Otay Farms Super Market at 3350 Palm Ave. in South San Diego shortly before its closing time of 10 p.m., taking an undetermined amount of cash at gunpoint, police said.

As they fled, the manager saw them get into a white Mercedes, and police, who arrived at the store moments later, immediately broadcast the description of the car, Police Lt. Jerry Moody said.

An officer en route to the scene spotted a white Mercedes near H Street on Interstate 805 in Chula Vista and ran a check on it. He got lucky, Moody said. It had been reported stolen earlier that day.

“He happened to be at the right place at the right time,” Moody said. “Most people do a double-take on a nice, shiny Mercedes anyway.”

Police chased the car north through Chula Vista and National City. The Mercedes eventually headed south in the northbound lanes of I-5 before crashing into a sedan near E Street in Chula Vista. The two people in the northbound car were not seriously injured, Moody said.

Two men then abandoned the Mercedes and ran into a nearby trailer park, where they were arrested, Moody said.

Eric Gene Williams and Carl Frank Modica, both of San Diego, were booked into County Jail downtown on suspicion of armed robbery, auto theft and other related counts. Williams, 21, is being held on $57,000 bail and Modica, 20, is being held on $37,000 bail. Both men were to be arraigned today.

According to Moody, the Mercedes is badly damaged.

He added: “People usually choose a nondescript vehicle for a getaway car.”