Editor’s note: This article originally called the reported crime a robbery, and has been corrected to reflect it as theft.
Two were arrested Wednesday after post office staff reported an ongoing theft, which escalated into a high-speed chase across the San Diego–Coronado Bridge.
An employee called police after witnessing two people in a black SUV stealing mail from the blue United States Postal Service drop box outside the Coronado Post Office, according to the Coronado Police Department.
The employee provided a description and license plate number for the vehicle, and a nearby officer attempted a traffic stop after locating it. The driver did not stop, and instead zipped across the Coronado Bridge and onto Northbound Interstate 5 at speeds exceeding 90 miles per hour.
CPD officers dropped the pursuit due to safety concerns, and the San Diego Police Department took over with an Airborne Law Enforcement (ABLE) helicopter.
The helicopter tracked the vehicle to Sea World Drive near Tecolote Road, where the driver and passenger fled on foot. The male suspect was apprehended immediately, police say, while the female, who was driving the car, was found an hour later, stuck in some bushes.
The suspects, a 32-year-old female and a 28-year-old male, are from Orange County.
What time of day did this theft occur?
The alert person who reported it deserves our gratitude as that was our own mail
Cathy
Not a robbery A robbery is taking something from a person using force or fear.
This was a federal crime “theft of mail”, 18 U.S.C. section 1708. It’s also a state crime under larceny and vandalism/property damage penal codes.