Armed man steals from 3 stores in same plaza, leads officers on pursuit before being caught 

A man who stole merchandise from three stores in the same Inland Empire shopping center was apprehended after leading officers on a brief chase on Saturday afternoon. 

According to the Upland Police Department, officers responded to the Colonies Crossroads shopping mall, located on North Campus Avenue in Upland, for calls of three separate thefts around 3 p.m. 

“The first [theft] was at a grocery store, where a large amount of alcohol was stolen,” Upland police said on X. “The second incident took place at a sporting goods store, and the final theft occurred at a retail business, where loss prevention confronted the suspect.” 

“Instead of going with the program and returning the stolen items, the suspect threatened to pull a knife and elevated himself right into a felony robbery,” UPD added. 

Responding officers canvassed the shopping center and located the male suspect as he was driving off the property. 

Officials stated that the man, “whose decision making couldn’t get any worse,” took off upon being sighted by police.  

After a brief pursuit, he decided to pull over, authorities said. Bodycam footage posted by the department shows the suspect being placed in the back of a police car on a busy thoroughfare. 

Also depicted in the bodycam footage is some of the items the man stole, including several bottles of high-end alcohol, a pair of pants and a pair of shoes. A pocketknife was recovered from the scene as well.

The footage released by UPD also shows surveillance video of the man, whose name was not released, stealing from the businesses. In one angle, you can see him taking off his shoes, putting a new pair on and placing his old shoes back where the new ones were.

In another angle, he can also be seen conversing with what appears to be the loss prevention officers who confronted him. 

The man was booked for robbery and evading. His vehicle, which appeared to be a Tesla, was also towed, police said.