Glendale mall locked down during search

The Americana at Brand was locked down for several hours Monday when an armed robbery suspect ran into the Glendale shopping center after leading police on a car chase and then a chaotic foot pursuit.

The suspect was later found hiding in the stairwell of a parking garage at the center, and customers were allowed back into the mall, police said.

The man was one of three suspects who allegedly robbed a liquor store shortly before 11 a.m. in the 2000 block of Glenoaks Avenue in Burbank.

When Burbank police spotted a brown Toyota Corolla reportedly connected to the robbery, the suspects sped north on Glenoaks, winding along surface streets and eventually getting on the 210 Freeway, where they reached speeds up to 100 mph. Police pursued the car south on the Glendale Freeway and onto the 134 Freeway, before exiting at Brand Boulevard in Glendale.

The suspects ran into trouble near the popular Americana shopping and residential development, where they struck a parked car. Two suspects were immediately apprehended at the scene.

But a third man, who police said was armed with a handgun, eluded one officer and slid across the hood of a patrol vehicle to get away from another officer. He then sprinted down the street, outrunning a pursuing officer and entering the Americana.

Police placed the mall on lockdown as officers with the Burbank and Glendale police departments searched for the suspect. He was found about 1:40 p.m. and arrested by a search team with the Glendale Police Department and turned over to Burbank authorities.

The suspects were not immediately identified, but police said they were 18 to 20 years of age. The search involved dozens of officers.

andrew.blankstein @latimes.com