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Robbery suspects in custody after chase, crash in Melbourne

MELBOURNE, Fla. — A group of robbery suspects are in custody after a pursuit that came to a crashing halt in a Melbourne neighborhood.

A Melbourne police dash camera captured the group of robbery suspects racing through a residential neighborhood in a reckless effort to escape police, officers said.

“He saw the pole, but I don't think he saw the tree. Boom, and it was all over,” said resident Greg Thorpe.

After the pursuit ended in the crash, a foot pursuit began.

“Five occupants fled the vehicle,” said Melbourne police Cmdr. Dan Lynch.

One suspect had a handgun, and when he fled the car, he dropped the magazine, police said.

"We located the magazine from the handgun. The suspects all took off running," Lynch said.

Police found three of the men but two more are still on the run.

Police said the suspects' vehicle matched the description of one connected to a robbery at a Palm Bay 7-Eleven earlier this week, but when an officer tried to speak to the occupants of the vehicle about that, they sped off.

A decision was made to pursue the suspects.

“Being an armed robbery, and a forcible felony, we thought it would be in the best interest of the community to get them off the street,” said Lynch. “So no one else gets robbed and no other people get hurt.”

Police have not released the suspects' identities.