Holdup Suspect Flees; Military I.D. Left in Car

Police were searching Sunday for a Marine corporal in the robbery of a supermarket Saturday, after military identification was found in the getaway car.

Authorities would not identify the suspect except to say he was stationed at the Twentynine Palms base.

Another suspect, Edward Garcia of Pacoima, was arrested in Burbank after a 45-minute chase, said Sgt. Carl Frank of the Los Angeles Police Department’s North Hollywood Division.

A man allegedly walked into the Gelson’s market at 4738 Laurel Canyon Blvd. shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday. He got the manager’s attention with a ruse, then indicated he had a weapon and demanded cash, police said.

He was still inside the market when police received a call that the market was being robbed.

A two-officer vice unit that patrols the area and a helicopter were close enough to respond within a minute, Frank said.

“It was one of those lucky things where we’re there at the right time and it all clicked,” Frank said.

Garcia, a Magic Mountain security guard, allegedly was waiting outside in the getaway car when police arrived. He sped away in a dark green Nissan Maxima, headlights off and license plates removed, Frank said.

Because the call described it as a one-man robbery, police thought the driver had acted alone.

Garcia drove north on the 170 Freeway, leading police on a chase that traversed two more freeways and several residential streets in northeast Los Angeles and Pasadena until he finally surrendered in Burbank.

At one point, Frank said, Garcia was going 100 mph.

In the meantime, the man who allegedly robbed the store stepped outside to find his getaway driver gone, Frank said.

He fled, ditching the cash, his gun and clothing, all of which were later found by police, Frank said.

The officers who arrested Garcia didn’t find out there was a second suspect until they returned to the market.

Investigators found the Marine’s military identification, driver’s license and military gear in the getaway car, Frank said. The description of the robber given by witnesses matched the one on the identification card.

Also inside the car, police found ammunition for the gun believed used in the holdup, plus magazines for an M-16, Frank said.

Maj. Todd Yeatts, a spokesman for the Twentynine Palms base, confirmed that the LAPD had requested the base’s assistance in capturing the suspect, described as an infantry soldier with the 7th Marine Regiment.

Garcia was held in lieu of $70,000 bail.