Five people, including minors, were arrested on suspicion of looting a store at the Ontario Mills shopping center and stealing $5,000 worth of clothing.
The Ontario Police Department responded to an emergency call on May 8 of a group of four masked thieves stealing clothing from the Polo Ralph Lauren store near the mall's south entrance.
Security footage captured the thieves, dressed in dark clothing, ransacking the store and grabbing all the merchandise they could, according to KTLA5.
The four then fled in a car before police arrived. It is unclear if there was a fifth person in the car waiting for the rest of the group.
Ontario has specific police units assigned to Ontario Mills that specialize in retail theft.
Police served a search warrant and recovered the stolen merchandise, as well as three firearms, one of which was stolen.
(Ontario Police Department)
Authorities were able to obtain a license plate number from the vehicle as the group fled, Sgt. Joseph Estrada of the Ontario Police Department.
By entering the license plate number into the police department's Real-Time Information Center, officers were able to identify the car and discovered it was related to another robbery the Montclair Police Department was investigating, according to the Ontario Police Department. .
Details about the Montclair police investigation were not immediately available.
Working with the Montclair Police Department, officers located the car and the five suspects.
Jovon Wagoner, 18, of Ontario and Alexander Dorantes, 19, of Corona, were arrested on suspicion of grand larceny, conspiracy to commit a crime, shoplifting and possession of stolen property. Three others were also arrested, but their names are not being released because they are minors.
Ontario police officers subsequently served a search warrant at a related residence and recovered all Polo Ralph Lauren merchandise. Police also discovered three firearms, one of which was a stolen handgun.
Wagoner was charged by the San Bernardino District Attorney's Office with grand larceny, possession of stolen property, conspiracy to commit a crime and shoplifting. Dorantes was charged with robbery and conspiracy.
