Four people were arrested after allegedly robbing two kids outside Valley Plaza Mall and leading officers on a pursuit on the I-5 Freeway to Los Angeles County.
The Bakersfield Police Department said on May 26th, 2023, at around 6:28 p.m., officers responded to a report of an armed robbery outside of the Valley Plaza Mall.
When officers arrived, they talked to two juvenile male victims, who said that they were walking outside of the mall when they were approached by several men wearing ski masks who showed off a handgun at them and forcibly took jewelry and other property from them before driving away in a vehicle.
Police said about 20 minutes later, at around 6:52 p.m., officers found a possible suspect vehicle in the 4900 block of Stine Road, near Pacheco Road.
BPD said officers tried to conduct a vehicle stop of the vehicle, occupied by four people.
The people inside the car were identified as 20-year-old Manjot Rangi, 18-year-old Jay’Vontae Thompson, 20-year-old Deqwon Thomas, and 25-year-old Damien Diaz, all of Bakersfield.
The driver of the vehicle, Rangi, failed to pull over and led officers on a pursuit through east Bakersfield, according to BPD.
During the pursuit, property taken during the robbery was thrown out from the vehicle and recovered.
The pursuit continued to southbound Highway 99 and onto southbound Interstate 5, where it was assumed by the California Highway Patrol.
The suspects eventually abandoned the vehicle and were taken into custody in the area of Sloan Canyon Road at Nares Drive in Castaic.
Bakersfield police officers took custody of the suspects and they were transported and booked into the Kern County Jail for robbery, gang participation, willful cruelty to a child, resisting arrest, weapon violations and charges associated with the pursuit.