The father and son proprietors of a Corona Thai restaurant, Thai Tuk Tuk, confronted thieves as they burglarized the business, leading to a chase on the freeway.
FOX 11 reports that at 4 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 24, security cameras from the restaurant showed two hooded men breaking into the business.
A third man was also seen on another camera rummaging through the cash register. According to NBC Los Angeles, the restaurant’s alarms went off, but the burglars seemed unfazed.
They continued to steal not only cash but other valuable items for 40 seconds before leaving. In an article on MSN, the police said that the building’s property owner, who lives nearby, was alerted by the alarm. She arrived on the scene just as the thieves were about to take off.
The police said the landlord tried to intervene, so the men pointed a gun at her head and tried to take her phone away. The thieves also tried dragging her inside their vehicle, but she managed to escape.
Moments later, the father and son restaurant owners arrived. They asked to remain anonymous, fearing for their safety. The owners said that this incident is the third time they have been burglarized.
“When we got here, they were in the process of getting in their car and leaving already. Right then, we decided to follow them slowly,” the restaurant owner’s son told NBC Los Angeles.
They followed the suspects onto the 91 Freeway before the thieves pulled over and abandoned their car.
“I think the driver started to pick up that we were following them, and then that’s when it became a speed chase on the 91 a little bit,” the son said, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Police spotted the suspects on the freeway shoulder as they ditched their vehicle. All three men were arrested, but officials have not released their identities, FOX 11 reports.
The MSN article reported that the police said the suspects are currently in custody with bail enhancements of $1 million.
“We were victims of a theft before. So basically, we just don’t want to be victims again,” the son told NBC Los Angeles. “It just felt like the right thing to do, you know? You gotta go after them sometimes.”
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