Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : 4 Robbery Suspects Arrested After Shot-Punctuated Chase

Police arrested four men Wednesday evening after the suspects went on a two-hour spree during which they exchanged gunfire with sheriff’s deputies and a security guard, robbed a jewelry store and hijacked a car, authorities said.

The names of the four men were unavailable.

The incident began about 4:10 p.m. when the men entered Classic Jewelry in the Antelope Valley Mall, 1233 West Avenue P, and ordered everyone inside to get down on the floor, store employee Joseph Jones said.

While one of the men held a gun on the two shop employees and four customers, three others smashed jewelry cases with mallets.

The men fled with between $700,000 and $800,000 in jewelry, Jones said.

Before they left the store, the robbers attempted to rob employees and customers, Jones said.

As they ran through the mall, the men were pursued by a Brinks security guard, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Bob Denham said. The guard fired four shots at them and one of the gunmen fired one shot in return, Denham said.

The suspects got in a car and drove north on the Antelope Valley Freeway, then made a U-turn in the dirt center divider and headed south, Denham said.

After a tire went flat, the robbers exited on Avenue S and entered a park-and-ride lot, where they took a woman’s car at gunpoint.

Trailed by sheriff’s deputies, the robbers got back on the freeway and exited at Avenue K. After traveling on 12th Street West, the suspects stopped on Avenue J 15 where they got out of the car, Denham said.

Deputies fired five shots and one of the suspects fired four in return, Denham said.

“I was in my room reading when I heard a commotion . . . and shots,” said Avenue J 15 resident Joanne Bauer. “I looked out the window and about four feet away was a police officer shooting over my brick wall into my back yard. Yes, I was scared.”

Sheriff’s Department SWAT units, K-9 units and a helicopter were involved in the search of the residential neighborhood.

Police arrested two of the men in a balloon store and one in a nearby alley. The suspected gunman was discovered by a police dog hiding in a doghouse, Denham said.