Holdup Suspects Arrested After 100-m.p.h. Chase

BURBANK — Three men suspected of robbing a pizza restaurant with a shotgun were arrested Sunday after leading police on a 30-minute chase at speeds that exceeded 100 m.p.h., Burbank police said. A fourth suspect escaped.

Four men burst into the Round Table Pizza at 2409 Victory Blvd. about 11 p.m. Saturday, said Sgt. William Berry. One of the robbers hit a customer over the head with a shotgun as he and his accomplices took money from employees and customers, Berry said.

After the group left the restaurant, the suspects were spotted by Burbank patrol officers, and the chase began. The suspects raced toward Downtown Los Angeles on the southbound Golden State Freeway, and later the Pasadena and Harbor freeways, reaching speeds of more than 100 m.p.h., police said.

They exited the Harbor Freeway at Adams Boulevard and tried to elude their pursuers--which by that time included the California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles Police Department and USC campus police--in the West Adams neighborhood, Berry said. The four ditched the car and fled on foot, but three were captured near the intersection of Figueroa Street and Exposition Boulevard.

The man believed to have been armed with the shotgun escaped, but Timothy Quinones, 19, and Stacie Rodriguez, 21, both of Los Angeles, and Michael Garcia, 18, were arrested on suspicion of armed robbery, Berry said.

It was the second wild chase for Burbank police in the past three weeks. On June 19, Fernando Jaime Ramos of Arleta led police on a 150-mile chase through Los Angeles and nearby cities in a truck. That chase, televised live, ended with Ramos’ capture.

“The bottom line is we still catch them in the end,” Berry said.