3 Men to Be Arraigned in Robbery and Chase

Three suspects are to be arraigned today on charges of holding up a grocery store at gunpoint and leading police on a car and foot chase, Torrance police said.

The robbery occurred at 8:20 p.m. Wednesday at Albertsons on Hawthorne Boulevard. “People were screaming,” said Police Officer Dave Crespin. “There were people who dropped their groceries and ran out.” No shots were fired and no one was injured in the store.

Ronald Jones, 26, of Los Angeles; Ricardo Yearwood, 25, of Monterey Park; and Julian Knighton, 31, of Los Angeles, face charges of robbery, evading police and grand theft auto. Yearwood faces additional charges of carjacking.

Leaving with an undisclosed amount of cash, the suspects allegedly fled the store in a white Dodge pickup, which was later found to be stolen. A Torrance police patrol saw the truck and a high-speed chase ensued that ended when the truck slammed into a tree in Gardena. Jones, who was driving, was arrested immediately but Yearwood and Knighton ran away.

Yearwood carjacked a van at the West Coast Fitness Center on Crenshaw Boulevard in Gardena, but was arrested when the vehicle was stopped by a police blockade, police said. Knight was found and arrested soon after.