Doughnut Duo Arrested by Covina Cops on Suspicion of Burglary

Covina, CA--Early Wednesday morning, two burglary suspects were seen outside of Sophe's Donuts at 1102 North Azusa Ave.

"The patrol officers stopped them at the door, and when they ran, money fell out of their backpack. We've had about 10 burglaries in the past 3o days, so they were watching for suspicious activity," Covina police Sgt. Gregg Peterson said. "It was good old fashioned police work that led to this arrest."

On June 29, Patrol officers noticed the men at the closed Sophe's Donuts at 1 a.m.

"The suspects saw the police and started walking away," Peterson said. The officers then gave chase, into a flood control channel.

"As the officer neared the suspects to contact them, both suspects started running away from the officer and as they did, paper currency started falling out of a backpack one of the suspects was carrying,'' Peterson said.
"The two suspects began jumping fences and eventually jumped into the Los Angeles County Flood Control Channel.''

Peterson stated that a perimeter was established, and officers determined the two suspects were attempting to find a way out of the flood control channel by climbing through a network of sewer channels.

As officers prepared to search the sewer channels with the assistance of a police dog, the suspects were spotted hiding near the mouth of the storm drain that runs under the 800 block of West Covina Boulevard.

"This case shows how important it is for all the agencies in the surrounding areas to work together," Peterson said. "It was just good old fashioned police work and officer observation."

"It is good, the police were there at the right time," said Vanessa Pang, supervisor of Sophe's Donuts. "I got the call about the break-in at 2 a.m. We have to open early, and we need more security in the plaza."

Police arrested the doughnut duo, cuffing them to the metal grating of the storm drain until they could be safely brought out of the area with assistance from Los Angeles County firefighters, Peterson said.

"Start to finish, the chase and subsequent arrest lasted about two hours," Peterson said.

By 3 a.m. both Quentin Tyler Boyd, a 19-year-old resident of Carson, and a 17-year-old juvenile male from the city of Long Beach were booked on suspicion of burglary.

Well in time for the doughnuts to be made at Sophe's, which opens for business at 5 a.m.

Photo, Covina Police Dept.

Doughnut Photo, Pixabay