Stolen motorcycle recovered following jewellery shop robbery in Santa Cruz; three arrested
Police recovered the motorcycle stolen by the jewellery shop robbers on the third ring and Busch Avenue. Three people were arrested during operations on Monday.
Police operations locate motorcycle used in Santa Cruz jewellery shop robbery
Santa Cruz police recovered a black motorcycle bearing registration plate 6593-PAC on Monday, which was stolen by two of the four individuals involved in the robbery of a jewellery shop inside a shopping centre located in the vicinity of the third ring and Busch Avenue. According to El Deber, the operations extended across various areas of the Santa Cruz capital throughout the day.
Police interventions began in the morning in the Villa Primero de Mayo area and continued throughout the day. In addition to recovering the motorcycle, authorities preliminarily arrested three people, including a woman. An official report with exact details of those apprehended and seized goods is awaited.
The motorcycle theft, key element in the escape
Two of the robbers had fled the shopping centre on a black and green motorcycle, but the rear tyre punctured near the Totaitú petrol station, between the eighth and ninth rings of Avenida Cristo Redentor. There they intercepted the owner of the recovered motorcycle, who was driving slowly along the dirt track with his wife due to mechanical faults in his vehicle.
The men demanded that the man hand over his motorcycle and even asked him how to start it, as the engine would only start using the starter button and kick start pedal. The victim feared that the criminals would also steal his and his wife's belongings, but the assailants only took the motorcycle and abandoned theirs—with the punctured tyre—at the location in a kind of forced exchange. The victim reported the incident to police immediately.
The robbery occurred on Sunday evening
The jewellery shop robbery took place shortly after 19:00 on Sunday 11 October at a shopping centre with high public traffic on a Sunday. Four armed individuals carried out the robbery whilst the premises were busy.
Monday's operations sought to locate the four individuals involved. Authorities confirmed the recovery of the motorcycle and the arrest of at least three people, though the definitive report on the total number of those detained and objects seized was still pending at the time of publication.
Source: El Deber