Citizen Sleuths Crack Smash-And-Grab Case That Started At Dog Park In Irvine
IRVINE (CBSLA.com) — An Orange County couple cracked a smash-and-grab case that started at a dog park in Irvine this weekend.
The incident unfolded at Irvine's Central Bark Saturday and took Jared Arteaga and Megan Rankin on a trek to South Los Angeles.
As Arteaga explains, moments after realizing Rankin's car and two others had been broken into, the pair utilized the Find my iPhone app.
"We went on the Find my iPhone app and we see that they were driving down the 405 Freeway north," he said.
The pair called Irvine police and gave them the play-by-play of the phone's location. But when they were told officers could not follow the purse out of town, they decided to get in the car and track the pings, which led them to the northbound 405 Freeway.
"I was counting down the miles. I was like 'two more miles to go, two more miles,' " said Arteaga.
After an hours-long drive, the pair was led to an empty parking lot and a trash can. Yet, still, they had no idea of what they might be getting into.
"These people are willing to break into cars, break windows, and steal stuff and who knows what else they are willing to do," he said.
"Megan passes by the trash can and says, 'They're here!' And I said 'Grab it. Put it in the car!' And we bolted out of there," he said.
Though the wisdom of pursuing the purse is debatable, both insist they had a plan if they'd been led to a house or car filled with people.
"The cop told us because I said, 'We're going out there,' and he said, 'OK, when you are getting out of the car, pretend like you're walking the dog,' " she said.
Fortunately, no one was around when they found the stolen goods. They then called police to tell them they had cracked the case and recovered all of the purses.