A group of teenage boys are in custody after police say they stole the car and drove them into storefronts around the Bay Area in a series of robberies starting on Christmas Eve.
The boys ranged from 14 to 16 years old and robbed multiple businesses over three months, the San Jose Police Department announced in a news release Monday.
Surveillance footage from the robbery in March shows the teen installed a chain at the back of the car and tore the front door to a liquor store. They plundered the store and stuffed stolen goods into the trunks of their cars. The glass bottle crank can be heard through security footage.
The first incident was reported on Christmas Eve.
In that incident, police said four suspects drove vehicles to a business off the coast of Almaden Road near the highway and looted them. The suspect had disappeared by the time police arrived, and in the weeks that followed, dozens of similar incidents were reported with vehicles being forced into the building.
However, officials say law enforcement finally caught up with the crew on March 25th through a series of run-ins across San Jose. They allegedly stole two vehicles from the house around 3am and about 15 minutes later they tried to carjack someone nearby. Police said the suspects use guns to drive away the car owner and stand up when they break into the car, causing an alarm and allowing everyone to escape.
However, about 30 minutes later, police said they found the suspect in two vehicles in downtown San Jose after being hit with license plate readers.
When officers tried to pull the vehicle, they stopped and refused to run away, but only temporarily. One of the vehicles was eventually found to be disabled on highway on the on-ramp, and one suspect was captured after chasing his foot. The second suspect escaped in a car with a gun pointed at the officer, police said.
Two more crew members were captured after 4am after police chase, officials said. One suspect used his vehicle to ramble a police cruiser while he was on his escape.
At one point, San Jose Police investigators learned that Santa Clara police were also investigating a similar crime in their jurisdiction, and that the remaining three crew members had been identified and issued for arrest.
On June 17th, they were taken into custody at homes in Milpitas and San Jose. Police said there were two women associated with the teenager who were accused of being arrested for destroying evidence, receiving stolen property, contributing to minors and resisting arrest.
During the search of the house, investigators found firearms, ski masks, key fobs for vehicles, tools used to access vehicle diagnostic information, several replica firearms, ammunition and a loaded magazine for steel chains.
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