MORENO VALLEY (Wire Service) - At least two suspects in the robbery of a Moreno Valley credit union branch were arrested today during an unusual vehicle-to-vehicle search on the Harbor (110) Freeway in South Los Angeles, where authorities halted traffic in response to a tracking device that was apparently hidden in money taken during the heist.

The robbery occurred at 9:20 a.m. at an Altura Credit Union branch at Day Street and Canyon Springs Parkway, according to Riverside County sheriff's Deputy Albert Martinez.

Law enforcement officials were able to follow the suspects thanks to a tracking device slipped in with the cash the bandits took, authorities said.

A sheriff's deputy monitored the signals coming Advertisement

[ Metalography ] back from the device and directed a sheriff's air crew to the robbers' vehicle, described either as a Buick sedan or Ford Taurus, as it headed west into Los Angeles County.

Shortly before 1 p.m., California Highway Patrol officers stopped traffic on the northbound 110 Freeway at Manchester Avenue in Los Angeles, and CHP officers and sheriff's deputies -- some with firearms drawn -- methodically approached the stopped vehicles, apparently looking for the source of the radio signal.

About 1:15 p.m., law enforcement personnel zeroed in on a stopped vehicle and arrested its occupants. Traffic was allowed to continue a short time later.

No injuries were reported during or after the holdup.

CNS-12-21-2012 14:18