Three suspected robbers picked the wrong direction to escape.
The Lantana chief of police said he was returning to Lantana after relaying information to Boynton Beach police about a car suspected in multiple robberies, when the car drove right at him.
Chief Sean Scheller and officers from several agencies chased the car into a dead-end street in Boynton Beach where they arrested three suspects after a brief foot chase.
“These are some guys who are responsible for some pretty violent crimes in the last few days. The community is safe with them off the street,” explained Scheller.
Officers are still interviewing the three suspects, and have not released their names or ages. Scheller said they were driving a silver Toyota whose owner had reported it as stolen.
Scheller said the same car and suspects are linked to a residential burglary in Lantana where the suspects pointed a gun at the victim, a strong-armed robbery where shots were fired in Palm Springs last night, and another robbery in unincorporated Palm Beach County.
“We’d been hot and heavy on this car looking for it,” Scheller explained.
His officers first spotted it in the Sea Pines neighborhood near Hypoluxo Road and I-95 this morning. The vehicle fled down Seacrest Blvd toward Boynton Beach, where the chief saw it and began chase. It ended on NW 2nd Street near Gateway Blvd and I-95.
The chief said he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
“By chance we looked up, my officer spotted the car and I confirmed that was the same tag and he saw us and away he went again,” Scheller described the moment.
Investigators from multiple agencies are interviewing the suspects and hope to charge them in multiple crimes later today.
“Hopefully these three guys will be off the streets for quite some time,” Scheller said, praising the work of his officers and the other agencies that assisted in tracking down the suspects.
3 robbery suspects in stolen car run right at @TownOfLantana Police Chief. All 3 arrested #rightplacerighttime @WPTV https://t.co/Y4SiJwayo1 pic.twitter.com/9DlswcsQ32
— Charlie Keegan (@CKeeganWPTV) February 10, 2017