TORRANCE (CNS) - Three young men and 16-year-old boy suspected of using pepper spray during the robbery of purses from a Torrance Nordstrom store were arrested today after a short vehicle chase that ended with a crash.
Officers responded about 3:45 p.m. to the store at the Del Amo Fashion Center in the 21500 block of Hawthorne Boulevard to investigate the purse thefts and use of pepper spray during the robbery, according to Torrance Police Department Sgt. Alexander Martinez.
“Witnesses observed the fleeing suspects enter a vehicle and were able to provide officers with their observations,” Martinez said. “Equipped with this information, Torrance patrol officers searched the area and ultimately found the vehicle.”
The suspects led officers on a brief chase that ended in a minor collision. They were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy and robbery, Martinez said.
The adult suspects were identified as Jeffrey Wright, 18, and Ahmad Jones, 20, both of Los Angeles and Aaron Flenoy, 18, of Inglewood. Police did not release the name of the boy, who is from Los Angeles.
Several people were treated by firefighters at the Nordstrom store for pepper spray exposure and two were taken to a hospital for further treatment, Martinez said.
People in the vehicle that collided with the suspects were treated at the scene for minor injuries, according to Martinez.