ESCONDIDO, Calif. (CNS) - An 18-year-old man and three teenage boys suspected of burglarizing 10 businesses in Escondido early Thursday were taken into custody following a brief predawn road chase that ended when the car they were in crashed near the intersection of Interstate 15 and state Route 78.
The events that led to the pursuit began about 3:15 a.m., when a security guard working in the 600 block of North Broadway in Escondido made an emergency call to relay information provided by a transient who saw four youths loading what he believed was an ATM into a maroon Cadillac sedan, according to police.
The guard then discovered that a doughnut shop in the area had a broken front window and possibly had been burglarized.
When patrol personnel found the vehicle a short time later on Park Avenue near Broadway, they saw the suspects placing a large safe in the front seat, the Escondido Police Department reported.
Seeing the officers approach, the youths jumped into the car. After the driver backed into a patrol vehicle, the Cadillac sped away, police said.
Following a roughly five-minute high-speed chase, the driver of the Cadillac lost control while trying to make a right turn from southbound Centre City Parkway onto westbound Washington Avenue, sending the car crashing into a palm tree in a parking lot, according to an EPD statement.
The occupants then scrambled out of the vehicle and made a failed attempt to escape on foot, police said. Officers took one into custody just outside the car and caught the other three nearby.
The suspects, all residents of Hemet, were treated at hospitals for injuries they apparently had suffered in the car crash.
In addition to the safe, officers found cash, jewelry, stolen store merchandise, and a loaded gun inside the damaged Cadillac, according to the statement.
Investigators believe the four teens burglarized the following central and western Escondido businesses overnight: Blue Mug Coffee and Tea, Del's Barber Shop, Donut Star, George Burgers, Glamour Brows, La Michoacana Plus, Lourdes Mexican Food, Sally's Beauty, 10 Perfect Nails, and Top Trendy Nails and Spa.
Detectives were working with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department to determine if several overnight burglaries in San Marcos and other previous ones in Escondido were committed by the same group, according to police.
The adult suspect, who allegedly was driving during the pursuit, was identified as Adrian Isaiah Jaramillo. He was booked into county jail in Vista.
The names of the other suspects were withheld because they are minors. One of them had a robbery warrant out of Riverside County and was booked into juvenile hall. The others will be released to their parents pending prosecution, police said.
