Police arrest three after chase

Three people were arrested in Long Beach Tuesday after police said they were involved in a dramatic armed bank robbery in Newport Beach less than an hour earlier.

About 11 a.m., two men walked into the Bank of America, 3300 E. Coast Hwy., in Corona del Mar, wearing dark clothes, dark sunglasses, fake beards and brandishing handguns.

The men ordered employees and bank customers to lie on the ground while they hopped the teller counter and took cash before fleeing, police said.

A witness gave a description of the getaway car to police and which way it was headed, said Newport Beach Sgt. Steve Burdette.

Not long after and miles away, the police helicopter Eagle One spotted a black sedan driving suspiciously near Talbert Avenue and Brookhurst Street in Fountain Valley, Burdette said. It was going in and out of parking lots and overall, acting out of place, police said.

The helicopter requested a traffic stop and when nearby Huntington Beach police tried to pull over, the chase was on, Burdette said.

Officers were chasing a newer model black Dodge Charger which led them through Westminster, Los Alamitos and into Belmont Shore in Long Beach, police said.

The car stopped in Belmont Shore and two men ran out but were caught and arrested. Officers found a woman hiding in the back of the car and arrested her too, police said.

Authorities did not release the name of the suspects because the investigation into the robbery is ongoing. All three were booked on suspicion of robbery and are being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

— Joseph Serna