Two burglary suspects temporarily evaded capture by leading officers and deputies on a 22-minute chase through Moreno Valley that ended with their arrest, a police sergeant said Saturday.
Investigators looking for the culprits of a robbery committed in Hemet on Thursday were led to Moreno Valley on Friday afternoon, where they believed one of the suspects had ties to a criminal street gang. While in the area, they spotted a vehicle with the pair of suspected robbers inside and attempted to pull them over, according to Hemet Police Sgt. Bob Nishida.
But just as law enforcement officers closed in on them, Robert Flores-Duque, 29, and Andrea Christine Diaz, 30, both of Moreno Valley, allegedly hit the gas, Nishida said.
Riverside County sheriff’s deputies and a helicopter crew from the Riverside City Police Department joined Hemet police in chasing the suspects as they fled through northern Moreno Valley, getting on State Route 60 at one point, Nishida said.
The suspect’s vehicle came to a stop in the 24100 block of Badger Springs Trail, where Flores-Duque and Diaz were arrested.
They were booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility, where they remained in lieu of bail.
Jail records show that Flores-Duque was out on bail and has previously been convicted of a felony.