Local News in Brief : Westminster : Suspect Arrested in Jewelry Store Robbery

A 25-year-old Artesia man was arrested on suspicion of robbery and kidnaping after he allegedly held up a jewelry store, then forced a passing motorist at gunpoint to assist him in his getaway.

Phu Binh Tran was booked into County Jail in Santa Ana after he led police on a high-speed chase for three miles that ended without incident on the westbound Garden Grove Freeway near Springdale Street, police spokesman Larry Woessner said.

Woessner said a man brandishing an automatic handgun walked into the Phuoc Chau Jewelry Store in the 9600 block of Bolsa Avenue in Westminster and demanded money and jewelry. He fled with a sack of jewels and ran out to Bolsa Avenue, where he forced a motorist to stop, Woessner said.

The man jumped into the car and ordered driver Ronald Lebfram of Costa Mesa to turn onto Magnolia Avenue and go north to the Garden Grove Freeway. With the store owner in pursuit, Lebfram headed west on the freeway.

Several Westminster officers joined the chase after spotting the store owner honking and pointing frantically at Lebfram’s car. Then, without warning, the fleeing man reportedly dropped his weapon and Lebfram pulled to the side of the freeway.