Three people sought in a theft Tuesday at a Macy's in the Brea Mall ordered a rideshare pick-up during an attempted getaway, police said.
Officers responded to the initial call around midday Tuesday at the northern Orange County mall. They saw three people wanted in the theft get into a car, which they chased before calling off the pursuit because it was too dangerous, police said.
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WATCH HEREAs they responded to the call, police also received what was later determined to be a false report of a kidnapping. Authorities said it's likely the false report was intended to be decoy, diverting officers from the theft response.
Witnesses reported seeing the car a short time later, leading officers to its location less than a mile from the mall near Laurel Elementary School. The school was locked down during the search for the thieves.
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SIGN UP The thieves abandoned the car and ran into Brea Dentistry, where employees said one claimed to be having a medical emergency.
"She definitively told me, 'I'm having a heart attack,'" said Dr. Brooks Larson. "And, then, she told me, 'My mother passed away at 49 because of a heart attack.'
"It was a great story. An Uber pulled up, and all of the sudden she miraculously, 'Oh, I feel better. I feel better.'
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Officers soon arrived and took three people into custody was they were getting into a rideshare vehicle as it was leaving a parking lot.
"They located the three suspects getting into a rideshare," said Brea Police Lt. Chris Harvey.
Another individual was arrested in the mall parking lot.
Police said the rideshare driver was not involved in the crimes. The driver was questioned by police and released.
It was not immediately clear what was taken in the theft.
