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LYNWOOD, Calif. () — A viral video showing officers punching and taking down a 17-year-old this weekend sparked widespread claims on social media that federal immigration agents were involved. But Anaheim police say the men in the video were undercover officers arresting a wanted smash-and-grab suspect.
The video shows the 17-year-old suspect attempting to carjack a vehicle before being punched and taken down. The confrontation happened on Friday in Lynwood, where angry witnesses who thought the officers were ICE agents shouted as the takedown unfolded.
According to Anaheim police, the teen was the final outstanding suspect in a violent jewelry store robbery in the Anaheim Hills last month.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Violent smash-and-grab robbery at Orange County jewelry store leads to crashes, arrests
A chaotic smash-and-grab robbery at an Orange County jewelry store was the start of a violent rampage that included crashes and several arrests.
Police say the group of eight suspects was caught on camera smashing an SUV through the front of Classic Jewelers before storming inside and clearing out display cases. Store owner Ramzy Tabello said the thieves also stole his firearm.
“I said, ‘I have a gun. Get out. I have a gun.’ They saw my gun on the counter, and they grabbed it,” Tabello said.
Investigators said the thieves escaped in two vehicles, getting away with the weapon and an estimated $750,000 in custom jewelry.
Their getaway came to a crashing end in two separate collisions a few miles away in Fullerton after Anaheim officers spotted the vehicles and followed them.
“This is not the first time doing it, by the looks of the video I’ve seen,” Sgt. Eric Anderson of Anaheim police said. “This is someone who had a plan and attempted that plan, but the outstanding police work of the Anaheim Police Department was not going to let that plan go through.”
Seven of the eight suspects were arrested shortly after the robbery. Undercover officers tracked the final suspect to Lynwood, where they took him into custody in the Friday incident that later circulated online. Detectives say they recovered a gun, ski mask and burglary tools from his vehicle.
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