Thirty lashes with a weed whacker

Three suspects were arrested Thursday morning (June 4) in connection with a rash of vehicle burglaries targeting landscape workers, sheriff's deputies are reporting.

According to detective Mark Haynesworth, deputies were dispatched to the site of a landscape truck robbery in Poway when they observed a vehicle matching a description of the suspects and began following.

Eventually the chase was joined by police officers from Escondido, ending at the North County Fair mall parking lot. A trio, identified by Haynesworth as Danny Hernandez, Luis Alcantar, and Cristina Rodriguez, emerged from the car and attempted to flee on foot. All three were arrested without incident.

The suspects were booked into jail on charges of burglary and possession of stolen property, among others. Per Haynesworth's report, the group has so far been linked to at least nine burglaries in Poway, Ramona, and Escondido.