Three Arrested After Robbery, Freeway Chase

Three men suspected of holding up a Fountain Valley cigarette store were captured Monday in a Los Angeles apartment complex by an LAPD special-weapons team about four hours after a high-speed freeway chase.

Police also were seeking two other suspects in a crime that began at 10:45 a.m., when two men robbed Cigarettes Cheaper at gunpoint and locked a clerk in a bathroom, Fountain Valley Police Sgt. Tom Perry said.

The three arrested were Kevin Baldwin, 23, of Los Angeles; Rasheed Cooper, 26, of Los Angeles; and Kevin Johnson, 29, of Hawthorne. All three were being held on suspicion of robbery at Orange County Jail, Fountain Valley Police Lt. Larry Griswald said. It was the third pursuit involving Orange County police officers in less than 24 hours. Garden Grove police were involved in the others late Sunday and early Monday.

Perry said two men took dozens of cartons from the Bushard Street store, passing them to accomplices inside a champagne-colored minivan.

The clerk, who was unharmed, freed herself and called police after the robbers fled. A Fountain Valley motorcycle officer spotted the van and followed it to the San Diego Freeway, where it headed north. Three Fountain Valley police cars then took up the pursuit, chasing the suspects at speeds up to 100 mph to Westchester, north of Los Angeles International Airport.

Perry said officers gave up the chase while they waited on a surface street for a train to pass. But a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s helicopter followed the van to 99th Street and Hindry Avenue, where the occupants jumped out and ran into an apartment complex.

Perry said Los Angeles police officers quickly set up a perimeter and began searching for the van’s occupants, three of whom surrendered without incident about 4 p.m. The search for the other two continued for about two more hours, Griswald said. Perry said the van and stolen property were recovered.

“We’re trying to determine who owns the van,� he said.

There were no shots fired in the robbery, and no injuries were reported. The suspects were reportedly armed with at least one handgun.

In another police chase, Garden Grove Police Lt. Paul Prince said officers arrested Thomas J. Matthews, 46, of Altadena after he led officers in a pursuit that covered two counties, four freeways and numerous surface streets Monday morning.

A California Highway Patrol officer first tried to stop Matthews on the southbound San Gabriel River Freeway about 8:30 a.m. on suspicion of driving illegally in the carpool lane. According to the CHP, Matthews also drove on the San Diego, Garden Grove and Santa Ana freeways before doubling back to Garden Grove.

Prince said a Garden Grove officer saw the CHP chasing Matthews’ rented Cadillac at north Brookhurst Street and the Garden Grove Freeway and joined the pursuit. The officer dropped back when the chase spilled into Anaheim.

But minutes later, Matthews crossed back into Garden Grove, and the CHP asked Garden Grove officers to take over the pursuit, Prince said. The Cadillac finally ran out of gas near Katella and Valley View avenues in Cypress, where three officers took Matthews into custody at about 9:30 a.m.

“He was taken out of the car and wasn’t totally cooperative, but he didn’t resist,� Prince said.

Authorities said no vehicles were damaged in the chase. Prince said Matthews was arrested on suspicion of evading a police officer, reckless driving and possession of marijuana. Police found less than an ounce of the drug in the car.

Investigators do not know why he did not stop for officers. “I don’t believe he had any outstanding warrants,� Prince said.

On Sunday night, a suspected drunk driver led Garden Grove police in a brief but destructive chase that began at 7:30 p.m. near Larson Avenue and Jefferson Street. Police said the driver struck two parked vehicles, a parked tractor-trailer and sheared a fire hydrant during the two-minute chase.

Armando Arganda, 22, of Las Flores was arrested on suspicion of evading a police officer, felony hit-and-run and driving under the influence. His passenger, Issac Arganda, 23, of Westminster was arrested on suspicion of being drunk in public, Prince said.