Police Arrest 4 Suspected in Commercial Burglaries

HUNTINGTON BEACH — A juvenile and three men suspected in at least three commercial burglaries were arrested early Saturday after officers spotted them in a van filled with allegedly stolen children’s clothing, police said.

About 4:30 a.m., residents who live behind the Kids R Us store in the 7600 block of Edinger Avenue reported seeing four people loading merchandise from the back door of the business into a van and a station wagon, Lt. Jon Arnold said.

An officer spotted the van entering the San Diego Freeway and a short pursuit followed.

After the driver left the freeway at Brookhurst Street and turned into a gas station, the four ran from the van, police said.

“They jumped over a wall behind the gas station into a residential tract behind it,” Arnold said.

Police surrounded the area and captured a 16-year-old Los Angeles boy and three men--Julio Rodriguez, 18, of San Bernardino, Errera Riveria, 19, of El Monte, and Jose Lopez, 22, of San Pedro. The men are being held at the city jail in lieu of $50,000 bail each and the teenager was booked into juvenile hall.

All four suspects suffered bites from the police dogs used to search the area, Arnold said. They were treated at Columbia Huntington Beach Hospital and Medical Center.

One officer, whose name was not released, also suffered minor injuries to his knee during a short chase to arrest the suspects. He was treated at Pacifica Hospital in Huntington Beach and released.

Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley investigators said they suspect that the same group might have been involved in at least two other burglaries within a few miles of the Kids R Us.

On Thursday, a similar burglary occurred at the Sport Chalet in the 16200 block of Beach Boulevard, police said. In that case, a front window was broken and sports equipment and clothing stolen.

“A videotape was obtained at the scene [of the Sport Chalet burglary],” Arnold said. “In reviewing the tape, investigators noticed that the van was the same make and model and a similar color [as that used in the Kids R Us theft]. Also, one of the suspects in Saturday’s incident appeared to be seen on the tape. . . . We think it might be a series of robberies by the same suspects using the same vehicle.”

Information about the Fountain Valley burglary was not readily available Saturday.

The station wagon was not seen on the videotape from Thursday’s burglary in Huntington Beach and police said they are not sure whether the car was even involved in the crime.