Updated 8 a.m. Friday.
Five burglary suspects were arrested Thursday after an extensive air and ground search in Poway that incorporated helicopters, K-9s and a foot chase from a bagel shop.
Officers drew their weapons outside the bagel shop, but no shots were fired and no weapons were found on any of the suspects, said Capt. William Donahue of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
The incident began with the report of a residential burglary on the 12800 block of Shady Oak Court in Poway around 11:13 a.m. Thursday. A woman who was at home heard knocking on her back window and fled to a neighbor's house, Donahue said.
Once the woman fled, however, she saw a second suspect leaving a neighbor's home with a TV. The two suspects fled in a vehicle, but the woman was able to provide deputies with a description of the two men, Donahue said.
Deputy Robert Tockstein was driving on Scripps Poway Parkway when he spotted the suspects' vehicle heading westbound and he gave chase, Donahue said. After a short pursuit, the suspects crashed at the intersection of Scripps Poway Parkway and Cypress Canyon Road. Both men fled into the neighborhood, but one was captured in the neighborhood and the other was found hiding in thick brush, the captain said.
By this time, sheriff's and San Diego Police Department helicopters had been called in to help with the search, plus K-9s and officers from the California Highway Patrol and the San Diego Unified School District, he said.
Back on Shady Oak Court—the scene of the alleged burglaries—deputies had determined that there were three more suspects outstanding and, after getting descriptions, began searching around Oak Knoll Drive and Poway Road. The three suspects were spotted by officers in New York Bagels & Omelets on the northeast corner of that intersection and fled on foot. Two were captured after a short foot chase, but a third made his way to Poway Creek where he was found hiding more than an hour later behind KRC Rock Natural Stone & Boulder Supply.
A woman at business near the bagel shop said she saw officers draw their weapons after the suspects fled, one dropping a coffee cup in the parking lot.
"It was like a movie," said Bahar Afnan, who works at Mak Cleaners next door to the bagel shop. "I was scared. They were about to shoot him."
No deputies were injured and the investigation is ongoing, Donahue said.
Two Poway Unified School District campuses—Creekside and Morning Creek elementaries—were locked down for about two hours during the search for suspects, said Sharon Raffer, a district spokeswoman.
NewBridge School on Oak Knoll Drive, and some San Diego unified campuses in the area also were locked down temporarily, official said.
Dave Garcia, general manager at KRC, said employees had to leave the business during the search, creating problems for the construction clients who were coming by to pick up supplies and KRC drivers who had deliveries to make.
Garcia said the wooded creek area behind the supply yard is often run through by teens and others, prompting a greater need for security.
The five burglary suspects were identified as Sonny Jones, 19; Marcus Bishop, 21; Jamel Holiday, 19; Don Jones, 18; and Rashad Clark, 22. They each faced residential burglary and other charges, Sheriff's Lt. Scott Miller said.
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