Officers Arrest Burglary Suspects and Recover Stolen Firearms
On June 14th, 2013, at about 4:00 PM, an alert citizen called the Hemet Police Department to report a residential burglary in progress in the 900 block of E. Mayberry Avenue. The witness reported seeing three suspects jumping her neighbors fence, and saw they were carrying several firearms. The caller said the suspects then got into an older white vehicle, and fled the scene. Officers arrived and located the suspects driving on Johnston Avenue, near State Street. Knowing there were guns inside the car, officers followed the suspects until a safe location for the traffic stop could be selected. When officers attempted to pull the suspects over, they accelerated, and a vehicle pursuit was initiated.
The suspects led officers on a short pursuit driving north on Palm Avenue across Florida Avenue, west on Devonshire Avenue, north on Hamilton Avenue, then west on Valencia Avenue. The suspects ran several stop signs during the pursuit, and reached a top speed of about 40 miles per hour.
Once the suspects arrived on Valencia Avenue, they attempted to flee from their car while it was still in motion. Officers were able to keep two of the three suspects inside the car, and one fled on foot. Several officers broke off, and chased the suspect on foot as he ran through the apartment complex and alleyway north of Valencia Avenue.
The suspect forced his way into an apartment which was occupied by a Hispanic family. The mother ran outside with her children and told officers the suspect had just entered her apartment. Officers went inside and found the suspect hiding in the bedroom closet, underneath a pile of clothes. The suspect resisted officers upon his arrest, but was quickly overpowered and taken into custody.
All three suspects are in custody, and have been charged with burglary, felony evading, home invasion, and resisting arrest. Inside the suspect’s car, officers found a total of five loaded guns, including shotguns and handguns. Those weapons were positively identified as the guns stolen in a residential burglary.
Two of the suspects are juveniles, and their names will not be released. However, the third suspect was identified as Dequan Dwayne Jefferies, a 21 year old resident of Hemet.