After an interrupted burglary and a short car chase, Palm Springs police arrested two burglary suspects from Long Beach before tracking down several more in Seal Beach, according to the department.

The situation started Friday when officers headed to a call about a burglary in progress at a restaurant in Palm Springs around 2:39 a.m., according to the local police department.

“A witness observed three subjects wearing dark clothing removing items from the business and placing the items into a black vehicle,” Palm Springs police said in a news release.

When officers got to the scene, police say they saw a woman run to a black Nissan Sentra that quickly took off out of the parking lot.

The Sentra’s driver led officers on a short chase before pulling over, police said.

Officers detained the two women inside and found a safe holding cash, according to the department.

Shanya Danea Johnson. Courtesy the Palm Springs Police Department.

When investigators went back and watched security camera footage of the burglary, they saw that two more people were also involved in the break-in, but they took off before officers arrived, police said.

Within a few hours, police were able to track those two new suspects to Seal Beach where local police pulled over their car and detained all five people inside, Palm Springs police said.

In addition to the two Palm Springs burglars in the car, several people riding with them were wanted as suspects in burglaries around the Long Beach area, police said.

“Seal Beach PD is currently questioning those individuals about the cases in Long Beach,” Palm Springs police said.

Kaelem Gonzalez. Courtesy the Palm Springs Police Department.

Ultimately, Palm Springs police said they arrested four people from the Long Beach area for the restaurant burglary:

  • A juvenile suspect who was later released to his parents
  • Shanya Johnson, a 19-year-old woman who was taken into custody on suspicion of conspiracy, possession of stolen property and evading a police officer
  • Mashayla Curry, a 20-year-old woman who was taken into custody on suspicion of conspiracy and possession of stolen property
  • Kaelem Gonzalez, a 22-year-old man who was taken into custody on suspicion of burglary and conspiracy

Police think Johnson, Curry and Gonzalez are also responsible for two other burglaries at Palm Springs businesses reported the same morning as the original break-in.

Jeremiah Dobruck is executive editor of the Long Beach Post where he oversees all day-to-day newsroom operations. In his time working as a journalist in Long Beach, he’s won numerous awards for his investigative reporting and editing. Before coming to the Post in 2018, he wrote for publications including the Press-Telegram, Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.