Long Beach Police Department

On Monday, January 4, 2016, at approximately 2:20 a.m., Long Beach Police responded to a residence in the 3200 block of Chestnut Avenue regarding what was originally thought to be a burglary, which resulted in the arrest of four male subjects, and subsequent charges being filed.

Officers arrived at the location within two minutes of the Communications Center receiving a 9-1-1 call. As they arrived, officers saw a vehicle leaving the scene at a high rate of speed and initiated a pursuit. The suspect vehicle lost control and struck a power pole at the intersection of 25th Street & Chestnut Avenue, and two of the four male occupants ran off, at least one of them armed with a firearm. The two individuals who remained in the vehicle were taken into custody. A perimeter was immediately established and the area locked down.

The Communications Center then received a call from a concerned resident regarding a suspicious person in the 2400 block of Chestnut Avenue. Officers responded to that area and arrested the third suspect who was located in the backyard of a residence on that block.

With the assistance of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles Police Department’s helicopter, the fourth suspect was observed in the rear yard of a residence in the 2500 block of Cedar Avenue. At that time, L.B.P.D. S.W.A.T. was activated. At one point during the incident, the suspect began jumping fences from yard to yard. With the assistance of the Police Service Dog Unit, the suspect was taken into custody by S.W.A.T. officers. Two firearms were recovered during the search. Two of the suspects were transported to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries, before being cleared for booking.

“The arrest of all four suspects was a direct result of the quick response and actions of the responding officers, their immediate coordination of resources, and the community members who didn’t hesitate to pick-up the phone to call 9-1-1,” stated Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna.

While still investigating the incident, detectives determined marijuana sales from the residence was a possible motive for the robbery.

Today, Wednesday, January 6, 2015, detectives presented the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, and the following charges were filed:

Defendant Maea is being held on $596,000 bail, and Defendant Savaii on $610,000 bail, both at L.A. County Men’s Central Jail. Defendant Tumulak posted bail and was released.

The fourth suspect is 14-year-old from Long Beach, who was charged with (3) counts of home invasion robbery and (1) count possession of a firearm. He is being held at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall without bail.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact L.B.P.D. Robbery Detective Ben Vargas at (562) 570-7464. Anonymous tips may be submitted by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), texting TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or visiting www.lacrimestoppers.org.