MURRIETA, CA – Three men were arrested early Monday and face charges in connection with the robbery of a convenience store and a high-speed chase by several law enforcement agencies through San Diego and Riverside counties.
During the pursuit, a police dog was shot and a police car was peppered with bullets, officials said. No officers were hit or injured, the CHP said. The dog was expected to recover after being taken to a veterinary hospital for treatment.
Alexander Juan Portilla, 18, of Santee; Angel Quinonez, 19, of Lemon Grove; and Killian Samuel Tompkins, 21, of San Diego were all booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta over the weekend. All three men were still in custody as of Tuesday, Mike Lassig, a California Highway Patrol officer, told Patch.
The three men were booked on charges of attempted murder of a police officer, assault with a firearm, felony evading and resisting arrest, according to Lassig.
Just before midnight on Sunday, a sheriff’s deputy watched three men, at least one of whom was armed, run out of a 7-Eleven and get into a gray BMW sedan, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
A witness told sheriff’s Lt. Mike Arens that one of the men “just robbed the store,” Arens said. The deputy tried to stop the car but it drove away, Arens said. The deputy pursued the BMW onto westbound Interstate 8 and called the CHP to assist.
The three men fled from sheriff’s deputies and traversed several San Diego freeways. As they entered the Mira Mesa area on Interstate 15, the CHP took over the pursuit, the CHP said. The BMW speeded up to 130 mph on different stretches of the freeway. The BMW exited and reentered the freeway twice and rammed a CHP patrol car on Winchester Road in Temecula, the CHP said.
After crossing into Murrieta, one of the men fired a pistol several times from the BMW, peppering a CHP vehicle with bullets, the CHP said. The men drove up to a gas station on Los Alamos Road, where they ditched the car and tried unsuccessfully to carjack two bystanders at the gas station, officers said.
A San Diego County Sheriff’s Department dog was sent to apprehend one of the men. As the dog was attacking, the suspect shot the dog and fled on foot, the CHP said.
The dog, “Cezar” was taken to a local emergency veterinary clinic and was expected to make a full recovery.
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CHP officers were able to arrest two of the men. The third remained missing for just over an hour, police said.
Several law enforcement agencies from San Diego and Riverside counties conducted a ground and air search for the man. A Murrieta Police Department dog, “Lew,” eventually found him; the man suffered bite wounds before he was arrested, the CHP said.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department will continue to investigate the initial armed robbery. The CHP will handle the investigation of all crimes committed during the chase.
City News Service contributed to this report.