Two armed men tied up three employees as they robbed an all-night Encinitas pharmacy Saturday, police said. What they didn’t know was that a fourth employee was hiding.
It all started at 2:10 a.m. when two suspects robbed the CVS Pharmacy at 455 Encinitas Boulevard, Sgt. Thomas Yancey said.
He says one of the suspects bound the three employees but didn’t know about a fourth – who was able to call 911 and gave sheriff's dispatchers a running description of the suspects' activities.
Shortly after deputies showed up at the store, one of the suspects walked out the front door but saw a deputy and bolted back inside. Moments later he took off with the other suspect through a rear door and then fled in a getaway car, Yancey said.
Deputies took chase and headed west on Encinitas Boulevard towards Interstate 5 but the suspects veered north onto Saxony Road.
That was probably a bad idea -- the driver tried to turn west towards the freeway but was going too fast and instead drove over the curb and slammed into a Eucalyptus tree.
Both suspects ran, but deputies were able to arrest one of the men – they’re still looking for the second suspect.