3 Held on Suspicion of Robbery After Car Chase

Three men led police on a car chase from Fountain Valley to Seal Beach early Wednesday morning after they allegedly broke into a store and made off with a trunk full of cartons of cigarettes, police said.

The suspects were caught when their car crashed into a chain-link fence at the U.S. Naval Weapons Station, Fountain Valley Police Sgt. Daryl Nance said.

Arrested on suspicion of commercial robbery were Trent Eugene Dutcher of Orange, Rodney Lee Stevenson of Garden Grove and Victor Guy Charlebois, described by police as a transient. The trio, all 28, had recently been released from prison or jail, Nance said.

At 2:20 a.m. Wednesday, officers responded to a silent alarm at the Drug Emporium, 16119 Brookhurst St., and saw a car speeding away. The windows of the store had been smashed, Nance said.

“The vehicle fled at a high rate of speed, running a red light and driving in a very reckless manner,” Nance said.

Officers followed the car at speeds reaching 90 m.p.h. to the naval station, where the car crashed into the fence, Nance said. At that point, a police cruiser blocked the car to keep it from attempting to back up into another police car, he added.

Police found dozens of cartons of cigarettes in the trunk of the car, Nance said. The men were held in Orange County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail each.