Police arrest 2 men suspected of burglary during a street takeover
Seven cars have also been seized in connection with the July 14 takeover and burglary in North Long Beach, according to the LBPD.
Long Beach police arrested two men and seized seven vehicles in connection to a street racing takeover that included the burglary of a North Long Beach convenience store back in July, authorities said Monday.
Tonjai Webster Jr., 20, of Los Angeles and Christopher J. Villegas, 20, of Lakewood were arrested and booked on charges of commercial burglary and felony vandalism related to street racing, respectively, according to a statement from the Long Beach Police Department.
During the street takeover that blocked the intersection of Orange Avenue and Harding Street around 12:40 a.m. on July 14, spectators broke into a nearby convenience store on Orange Avenue, according to ABC7 News.
Since then, LBPD burglary detectives spoke with business owners, reviewed security footage and found additional evidence related to the crimes, which ultimately lead to identifying the suspects and multiple suspect vehicles, police said.
In addition to serving arrest and seizure warrants in Long Beach, Lakewood, Santa Ana, Inglewood and Bell Gardens, police seized seven vehicles connected to the takeover and burglary, according to the LBPD.
"Our community was concerned by the actions that took place on July 14th and the Long Beach Police Department has responded with focused and direct action,” said Chief of Police Wally Hebeish in a statement Monday. “We will not accept dangerous and criminal behavior like this in our city, and those participating in any type of illegal motor vehicle gatherings or associated crimes will be identified and arrested.”
The cases will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for filing consideration, police said.
The investigation of the incident is still underway, police added.
Anyone with information is urged to call the LBPD's Burglary Detail at 562-570-7351.
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