On Tuesday night, an ordinary grocery run turned into a scene straight out of a cops-and-robbers chase. According to the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, two suspects were nabbed after pulling off a robbery at a local grocery store in Eastvale, California. The culprits, now known as Charles Sanford, Jr., 27, and Elijah Tucker, 26, made their getaway, but not for long.
It all went down at around 9:25 p.m. at a business located in the 12000 block of Limonite Avenue, where unsuspecting shoppers got more than they bargained for when a man approached a store employee and made off with an undisclosed sum of cash. The quick-footed thief dashed to a white 4-door Volkswagen in which his cohort lay in wait, and together they sped away, setting the stage for a high-flying search.
With the aid of the Sheriff’s Aviation Unit, deputies launched an intense search that led them to the 6,000 block of Fairlane Avenue. In the residence area, they discovered the suspect vehicle and two individuals believed to be behind the robbery. A search warrant later unearthed evidence of the misdeed, including most of the stolen funds as per the Sheriff's Office statement.
Following a series of interviews and diligent collection of additional evidence, Sanford, of Rialto, and Tucker, of San Bernardino, were soon fitted with handcuffs - and charged with robbery and conspiracy. Both were booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center, their attempted caper having been cut short by law enforcement's swift response.
Investigator M. Barros of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office is the point of contact, reachable at 951-955-2600, as the investigation moves forward. Meanwhile, the media has been directed to the Media Information Bureau for any inquiries regarding the incident.
