BREAKING NEWS

An armed trio cleaned out Baca Jewelry store on Forest Avenue Tuesday evening, making off with an estimated $600,000 in jewelry.

Laguna Beach Police chased the suspects in a white Ford Fusion to a shopping center in Aliso Viejo, where the suspects exited the car and escaped, eluding an intensive police search of the area, said Lt. Jason Kravetz. They were spotted by one witness climbing a hill into a residential neighborhood above the Aliso Creek Road shopping center, behind an Edwards Cinema.

Two witnesses called 911 around 7:15 p.m. to report the robbery; one caller gave police a description of the vehicle and a license number. The victim, a woman, also called 911, but was too upset to give police much of a description of the suspects, Kravetz said.

“She was very shaken, and in fear of her life,” Kravetz said.

The suspects were described as male Hispanics, mid-20s, wearing black clothing and gloves.

The robbers took everything in the shop, putting the loot into a duffel bag.

Police chased the suspects from downtown Laguna Beach up Laguna Canyon Road, onto El Toro Road, then onto the 73 Toll Road, and off the freeway onto Aliso Creek Road, where the suspect vehicle door opened as if someone was about to flee, Kravetz said. Instead, the vehicle made a sudden turn around another vehicle and ended up turning into the Aliso Creek shopping center.

The getaway vehicle, which was not reported stolen, is registered to a woman in California and police are trying to track her down, Kravetz said.

The vehicle was impounded and taken to the Orange County Sheriff’s Dept. crime lab for DNA analysis and fingerprints, Kravetz said. The robbers left behind a small piece of jewelry, but got away with most of the stolen goods. The vehicle also contained clothing, which has been retrieved, Kravetz said.

Only 15 minutes elapsed between the first 911 call and the robbery suspects’ final escape, according to police logs.

“This was a well-planned crime,” Kravetz said.

On Wednesday morning, businesspeople in the area were shocked by the brazen robbery. One woman said she was closing up her store about the time of the incident, and had no idea it was taking place. She learned of it that morning.

Kravetz noted that an armed robber targeted another jewelry store on the same block in February, but that suspect was captured the next month in Hawaii and is in jail. That time, $50,000 in diamond rings were stolen.