Caught on Video: Burglars smash Rite Aid windows, steal high-end bottles of liquor
Police in Orange County arrested three people who had been burglarizing pharmacies, stealing expensive liquor off the shelves, and authorities believe they could be linked to dozens of other crimes.
From top shelf tequila to cognac and scotch whiskey, Orange County Sheriff's deputies said the bandits loaded hundreds of high-end liquor bottles into tall trash cans inside of a San Clemente Rite Aid store.
Security video from the Monday break in at the showed how fast and organized the trio worked after smashing a front window with a crowbar.
"So, it's obviously a well-orchestrated group. They are making entry. They are only in the stores for a short period of time. They immediately go to trashcans inside of the pharmacies and part of their group immediately goes to the higher-end or more expensive alcohol," Sgt. Scott Steinle, with OC Sheriff's Department, said.
After burglarizing the San Clemente Rite Aid, officials said the crew moved on to San Juan Capistrano and then to a CVS Pharmacy near Shady Canyon in Irvine.
In less than an hour, four stores were broken into before dawn. The windows were still boarded up at the Rite Aid just off the 405 Freeway and Culver Boulevard.
"And fortunately, at that second burglary, Irvine police came on scene as they were exiting the Rite Aid store itself. One of those subjects then fled, got in a vehicle that was later determined to be a stolen vehicle and took off," Sgt. Steinle said.
Two of the masked men, who had also been caught on camera breaking the glass to get into the pharmacy and steal drugs, were in custody. According to authorities, their partner in crime was pursued by law enforcement and was eventually found hiding in the yard of a Newport Beach home near Corona del Mar High School.
"A fantastic citizen in the city of Newport Beach called in a 911 call, referenced a subject in their garden and Newport Beach and the highway patrol responded to that area and took our third subject into custody," Sgt. Steinle said.
The three suspects are from LA County, with one of them turning 18-years-old just weeks ago and another one is a minor. Instead of being admitted to juvenile hall, according sheriff's deputies, he was released to his parents.
