Santa Ana Police Arrest 3 Teens as Suspects in Robbery of Shop

Police responding to a call of suspicious activity at an auto tinting shop Friday morning found an armed robbery in progress and arrested three teenagers, authorities said.

Police officers were summoned to Window Tints Etc. in the 1400 block of South Broadway when neighbors noticed “something suspicious” about 9:15 a.m., Police Lt. Bob Chavez said. Investigators discovered that three teenagers were holding up shop employees, Chavez said.

One 17-year-old suspect, from Santa Ana, was sitting in a red BMW parked in front of the business and was taken into custody on suspicion of armed robbery, Chavez said.

Two other suspects ran westbound into an adjacent residential tract, police said.

About 18 officers--accompanied by three K-9 units--cordoned off the area and searched house to house, authorities said. About two hours later, they found two teenagers hiding in a backyard shed in the 1400 block of South Van Ness Avenue, Chavez said. Two pistols were recovered nearby.

Arrested on suspicion of armed robbery were Herberto Sanchez, 18, of Santa Ana and a 17-year-old juvenile from the same city.

The business did not report a loss because “the robbery was interrupted,” Chavez said.