Shoe Store Robbery Leads to Chase, Arrests
Four youths robbed a shoe store here Sunday before leading police on a high-speed freeway chase that ended when the getaway vehicle got stuck on a railroad crossing in Los Angeles, authorities said.
No one was hurt at the shoe store or during the freeway chase, and police arrested the four youths in the getaway car on suspicion of armed robbery, said Costa Mesa Police Sgt. George Yezbick.
Yezbick said the robbery occurred shortly after 4 p.m. when four youths, three brandishing handguns, burst into Jumping Jack Shoes at 696 W. 19th Street.
The youths handcuffed the business owner and a customer, then proceeded to rob the store of shoes, cowboy boots, belts, jewelry and $400 in cash, Yezbick said.
A store employee telephoned police about 4:18 p.m. to report that the suspected robbers were heading north on Harbor Boulevard in a getaway vehicle, according to Yezbick.
A small fleet of police cars chased the vehicle on the San Diego Freeway at speeds exceeding 100 mph.
Yezbick said the chase ended about 10 minutes later when the youths’ vehicle exited the freeway at Normandie Avenue in Los Angeles and “got hung up” at a railroad crossing.
Police arrested the four suspected robbers without further incident, Yezbick said, adding that their names were not immediately available.
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