Watch Calif. Police Interrupt Restaurant Heist, Then Chase after Burglars
By Sandra McDonald
Source Los Angeles Times
A failed heist was followed by a flawed getaway for burglars who recently broke into an Upland chain restaurant, authorities say. The group was interrupted mid-theft. Then, as they were being pursued by officers, they drove into a dead end and got their stolen car stuck, according to police.
In a tongue-in-cheek video and statement posted on X by Upland police, three people are seen breaking into the Corky's Homestyle Kitchen and Bakery near 7th Street and Mountain Avenue around 3:30 a.m. Thursday.
Police added "It's Tricky" by Run-DMC as a soundtrack to security and body-camera video of the burglars smashing in a restaurant's glass patio door with a sledgehammer, then using drills and a crowbar to wedge out a safe inside. The safe, which the people in the video seem to struggle to move, appears to be abandoned as sirens are heard outside.
Police approached the stolen black Dodge Challenger parked outside the restaurant about six minutes after the initial break-in, according to the video's time stamps. After a failed PIT maneuver to immobilize the car in the parking lot, the burglars fled, purposely hitting a police vehicle to get away, police said.
The getaway driver, who police said was an adult male from Southgate on probation for burglary, drove down nearby South Linda Way — a dead end — before getting stuck between two parked cars.
Several suspects fled on foot, police said. Two were arrested, a 16-year-old from Los Angeles and the driver. Two others escaped. Police did not identify any of them.
The stolen Challenger had another plate inside connected to a different vehicle associated with other burglaries, police said.
Management at Corky's declined to comment Sunday when asked about the burglary.
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