SOUTH PASADENA — Two liquor thieves escaped police following a brief chase in a stolen car Saturday, but it wasn’t a clean getaway, authorities said. They left behind identification, including an inmate wristband from a previous stay in county jail.
Police did not release the names of the men as they continued seeking them and prepared a criminal case for prosecutors, South Pasadena police Lt. Mike Neff said.
Police received a call about 1:30 p.m. reporting the men were stealing liquor from Bristol Farms, 606 Fair Oaks Ave., the sergeant said. In addition to Saturday’s theft, they were seen the previous day stealing alcohol, he added.
Responding officers spotted the suspects, who fled to a nearby 1996 Honda and sped away, Neff said.
The Honda led police on a brief pursuit, which ended about half a mile away in the 300 block of Garfield Road, where the suspects abandoned the car and continued fleeing on foot, Neff said.
The suspects were not found, however they left behind in the stolen car all of the alcohol they had just stolen — valued at more than $300 — as well as identifying documents, police said.
Among them were a California ID and a wristband ID issued to county jail inmates, Neff said. Officers confirmed the men they chased were the same ones listed on the documents.
Both men have outstanding felony arrest warrants stemming from unrelated cases, he added.
The Honda had been reported stolen earlier in the day to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Harbor Division.