6 Arrested in Supermarket Bank Robbery

Two men suspected in a spate of recent bank holdups burst into a Buena Park supermarket just before lunchtime Thursday, robbing the Lucky market’s Bank of America branch and leading police on a wild car chase, authorities said.

The suspects, at least one of whom was armed, were caught soon after the heist, when Anaheim police officers stopped their getaway car on Harbor Boulevard near the Riverside Freeway. Four accomplices were arrested in La Mirada after a chase that reached speeds up to 100 mph. One suspect was shot and wounded in the neck as he tried to flee on foot, said Buena Park Police Sgt. Ken Coovert.

The wounded man was in good condition in UC Irvine Medical Center on Thursday evening.

The catch is a major coup for authorities, who believe the team is one of several who have made in-store bank robberies a specialty over the last year, said Bill Rehder, who coordinates the FBI’s bank robbery cases in much of Southern California. The six are suspected of committing nine in-store bank heists from Orange County to the San Fernando Valley in April alone, he said.

“This was a big score today, as far as in-store bank robberies are concerned,” Rehder said. “It puts to rest this little group at least.”

Supermarket branches are considered “soft targets” by many criminals. Holdups at the growing number of locations around Southern California have increased dramatically over the last two years, leading some banks to consider increasing security at the sites.

Thursday’s takeover robbery at the Buena Park Lucky is the fourth holdup the branch has seen since Bank of America opened it in June 1997, said the bank’s spokeswoman, Linda Mueller. Three of those cases, she said, were in the last month.

Two of the six suspects, whom police did not immediately identify, entered the Lucky store on La Palma Avenue about 11:10 a.m. One of them vaulted the counter and assaulted the bank manager, according to authorities. The second kept watch over the bank’s unarmed security guard, police said. It was unclear which one had the handgun, police said.

The men fled the store with an undisclosed sum of cash in a tan Toyota Corolla. During the chase, police said the suspects were joined by accomplices traveling in a second car, a Mazda MX6. The Corolla was spotted by Anaheim police and stopped. Police in the area were alerted to a second car. Within minutes, police spotted the second car and the chase began. The Mazda traveled west along the Riverside Freeway, pulling off at the Artesia Boulevard offramp.

As the car slowed, one man jumped out of the vehicle and tried to run away, police said. He was caught by a motorcycle officer, who found on him cash and other evidence linking the man to the robbery, Coovert said.

Meanwhile, a convoy of Buena Park and Fullerton police officers followed the Mazda east along Artesia Boulevard until it stopped at Knott Avenue. There, police took the three men into custody after a brief foot chase, when an officer shot one of the suspects, according to authorities.

All six suspects, ranging in age from mid-teens to early 20s, were booked on suspicion of bank robbery.

The Chase

Six bank robbery suspects were caught after a chase along the northern edge of the county.

1. Two men rob bank in Lucky’s grocery store, escape in car

2. They meet with a second car (near Harbor & 91)

3. Police capture suspects in first car, second car flees (up habor to westbound 91)

4. Second car exits (at artesia blvd); leaves after dropping off passenger, who is captured with money from robbery.

5. Remaining three suspects leave car (at artesia & knott), flee on foot. One suspect is shot by police.

Source: Buena Park Police Department