2 Robbery Suspects Caught After Chase on Freeway
Two suspected robbers led police on a freeway chase Monday from Montclair to Sherman Oaks, where their stolen van crashed into a tree and one of the suspects and a CHP officer were wounded by the same bullet from the officer’s gun.
None of those involved were seriously injured.
In custody on traffic and burglary charges were Carlos Roberson, 31, of Los Angeles and Melvin Curry, 33, of Compton. They were seen by officers staking out an area where four stores had been robbed.
When the suspects saw a uniformed officer in an unmarked car observing them, they took off on a chase that proceeded along the Santa Monica Freeway. Police said the van had been reported stolen.
At the Woodman Avenue exit, the van collided with a white pickup truck, slightly injuring its driver, and crashed into a tree, authorities said. The suspects fled. Curry was arrested without incident, but when a California Highway Patrol officer caught up with Roberson, they struggled for the officer’s pistol, which went off, striking the officer in the finger and Roberson in the lower back.
The officer, who was not identified, was treated at a hospital and released. Roberson was treated and released to police custody.
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