4 minors detained after armed robbery leads to I-10 car chase

PHOENIX – Four minors were detained following an armed robbery and car chase early Sunday morning. 

What we know:

Just after 1:30 a.m. on April 26, Phoenix Police responded to reports of an armed robbery near 39th Street and Maryland Avenue. 

“Several juveniles armed with guns had taken property and fled in a vehicle,” officials said. Police initiated a pursuit on westbound I-10, with assistance from DPS troopers, after the driver did not stop.

After the driver exited the highway at Watson Road, they crashed into another parked car in Buckeye. Everyone inside the car ran from the scene of the crash. 

Four minors were detained. One of the boys detained was taken to a nearby hospital with a minor injury. Police recovered the items they stole. 

Local perspective:

“I woke up to a helicopter flying over for the first time,” Buckeye resident Derek Hilton said, describing how neighbors were jolted awake that morning. “The helicopter starts playing over the PA system. ‘We have you surrounded. Give up now.'”

Security video showed the moments the chase came to an end in the middle of the street.

“Then, next thing I know, they knock on my door to ask if they can go in the backyard. Could they? That soon I was back there,” resident Jonia Jones said. 

Neighbors told FOX 10 that officers went to each home searching for the suspects, some of whom they say were hiding in people’s backyards.

“I went to check the backyard,” resident T.E. Jones said. “I went to the patio. I called, and I locked the patio door.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve seen a traffic stop, but nothing to this scale,” Hilton said. 

What we don’t know:

Officials did not say what the stolen property was or where the armed robbery took place. No identities were released. 

Map of the nearby area of the armed robbery.

Crime and Public SafetyPhoenixBuckeyeNews