3 Men Arrested in Toy Store Robbery
Three men were arrested after they stole thousands of dollars and store credit vouchers from a Van Nuys Toys R Us store, pointed a shotgun at police officers and crashed their getaway car, police said Monday.
Ramon Valdez, 19, of Los Angeles and Marcus Cruz, 19, of Washington state were arrested shortly after the Sunday night robbery. Acting on a tip, police arrested Jaime Pedilla, 18, of Los Angeles Monday morning, investigators said.
They were being held on suspicion of armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer in lieu of $55,000 bail each, Police Det. Greg DeMirjian said.
About 10 p.m. Sunday, two armed and masked men entered the Toys R Us at 16040 Sherman Way, police said. After taking the money and vouchers, they met an accomplice near the rear of the store. They fled by car but quickly encountered police. After a short chase, the car crashed and Valdez and Cruz were arrested at the scene.
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