5 armed-robbery suspects hold up Walgreens in Garden Grove and bail from car after engine catches fire

Five armed-robbery suspects in Garden Grove got away Friday morning despite the escape nearly getting foiled by their car’s burning engine.

The group, clad in dark clothes and faces covered, entered a Walgreens on Euclid Street and Chapman Avenue at about 4:10 a.m., police said. The store is open 24 hours.

“Five suspects entered the pharmacy, one of which was armed with a handgun, and jumped over the pharmacy counter and began taking codeine bottles and other merchandise,” Garden Grove police said in a statement.

Then they fled in a car and were spotted by police who began chasing them northbound on Euclid.

But the pursuit was short-lived – the car’s engine caught fire, disabling it on Euclid at Cerritos Street in Anaheim. All five ran, leaving behind personal property and evidence, police said.

Officers searched the area, finding only a handgun.

Police asked that anyone with information call them at 714-741-5800.