Cleveland police on patrol were able to catch three men in the act of a smash and grab at an east side Rite Aid early Wednesday.
According to police, three men were in the process of using a GMC truck to smash into the Rite Aid at East 55th Street and Superior Avenue around 4 a.m. when the two officers on patrol witnessed them in the act.
As officers approached the lot, two of the men—30-year-old Christopher Freeman and 28-year-old Jerrell Williams—fled from the scene. The third—28-year-old Lamar Speights—jumped in another truck and took off.
Officers searched the area and located William and Freeman hiding off St. Clair Avenue. Speights was also located on St. Clair Avenue while trying to break into another car.
The steel security doors were smashed in at the store and the van was left running in the parking lot.
This crime fits a pattern of smash and grabs that have been occurring all over Northeast Ohio in the past few months.
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