Chase from Sacramento to Martinez ends in crash, arrests

MARTINEZ, Calif. (KGO) -- Four robbery suspects are under arrest after a dramatic chase Wednesday morning from Sacramento all the way to Martinez. It ended only after a crash and a tense search off Interstate 680.

Investigators say they have a lot of information to piece together and officers in different cities to talk to. But one officer who was at the scene Wednesday morning tells ABC7 News that they got a call that the men were wanted for an armed robbery. By the looks of everything that was in the car, the officer says it looked to him as though they robbed a department store.

Police say there were four people inside the car that crashed into a fence just after 3:00 a.m. in Martinez.

Police were right behind them and had chased them from Sacramento. But even though the car was totaled, they weren't ready to give up.

"All the occupants of the vehicle exited and took foot bail," said CHP Officer John Fransen. "Our officers, as well as some allied agencies, set up a containment of the area."

Officers caught three of them pretty quickly, but the fourth hid for about three hours. A home and a dog kennel business were inside the perimeter.

"My dogs alerted on everything because they are xolos and they are very protective so we knew something was going on because all the dogs were barking," said Martinez resident Sheila Polk.

Ironically, police dogs searched the dog kennel for that fourth person. The owner helped them through the property.

"We just took 'em to the kennels to make sure there's nobody here," said the owner.

Investigators haven't said where the fourth person was found, but say he was taken into custody without incident.

An investigator on scene said that the people inside the car were wanted for armed robbery and that the car they were driving was stolen. They tracked it through the car's OnStar system and eventually got ahead of it

"A spike strip was deployed southbound I-680 near Bayshore," Fransen said. "And once that vehicle hit the spike strip it became disabled and wound up exiting the freeway."

Officers originally thought there were maybe five people in that car, so they searched the area around Arthur Road extensively. But now they believe the four people they have in custody are all those who were involved and the neighborhood is now safe.

Authorities will be investigating throughout the day and expect to release more information later.