3 suspects jailed, 1 sought following Montebello cell phone store robbery


MONTEBELLO >> Montebello police arrested three suspects, including one found hiding in a trash can, and sought a fourth following a robbery at a cell phone store on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
The robbery took place about 1:45 p.m. at a MetroPCS store at 1102 W. Beverly Blvd., Montebello police officials said in a written statement.
Four men had entered the store and demanded employees turn over four new cell phones, according to the statement. The employees complied, and the suspect fled the business on foot.
Two officers who happened to be nearby spotted the group running from the store, officials said. The officers were not aware of the robbery that had just taken place, but attempted to stop the men because of the suspicious behavior.
“The suspects did not stop and split up,” according to the statement.
Officers quickly detained one of the suspects, but the other three continued fleeing. Police set up a search perimeter, with help from neighboring police agencies, to seek the outstanding suspects.
One additional suspect was caught after he tried to run from officers in the 600 block of Howard Avenue, police said.
The third suspect was apprehended about 7:25 p.m. after witnesses called police to report seeing a man matching the description released by police via social media. Officers were preparing to search the neighborhood when an officer heard a loud noise coming from a nearby side yard. A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Depatment helicopter noticed a trash can had been turned upside down.
“While attempting to contact the residents at the location regarding their trash cans, one of the officers saw shoes sticking out from underneath the trash can,” the police statement said. “Moments later, the suspect was found to be hiding inside the trash can and he was taken into custody.”
The fourth and final suspect was not found.
The identities of the three arrested suspects were not available Wednesday morning.

Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Linkedin Email