WEST COVINA, Calif. – A suspect in yesterday morning’s armed robbery at a First Financial CU branch led police on a high-speed chase around the San Gabriel Valley for almost an hour, before he was dragged out of his getaway car by a K-9 police dog in nearby Whittier.
The chase ended with the police dog dragging the suspect out of a minivan as cash believed stolen in the heist fell out of the front seat with him.
The robbery occurred just after 10 a.m., when the suspect entered the credit union and allegedly passed a note to a teller demanding money. The robber then fled in a white minivan.
At one point, a woman in a red jacket who appeared to be talking on a cell phone approached the van, according to police. The van slowed down, and the woman jumped onto the vehicle, hanging onto the left sliding door. She clung to the side of the vehicle as police tried to slow the van. After a brief struggle, she managed to climb inside through an open window.
As the chase continued, the man threw a gun out the window, police said.
When the van finally came to a stop the woman got out with her hands up and was taken into custody without incident.
The man stayed inside the van until a police dog named Rambo was sent in after him. He jumped out of the van and the dog, a 7-year veteran, dragged him to the ground as cash spilled out of the driver’s seat.
The man was handcuffed and taken into custody.
The woman is believed to be the man’s girlfriend.
