Surveillance video shows what appears to be the suspects' minivan pull up near the victim's property in the 8500 block of Merlin at about 1:40am Monday. The driver kills the lights, and within minutes a Spring Valley Village police sergeant on patrol sees the vehicle with the door open. As the officer pulls up, the suspects take off.
"I just heard like a motor revving, like a car going really fast," said neighbor Kim Graham. "Then right after that, I heard the police siren going."
Graham just added cameras around her home recently because of break-ins and thefts. Seeing how close this was to her house, she says, was unnerving.
Police say the suspects led them on a high-speed chase through and out of the neighborhood at speeds topping 80 miles an hour. It was a short pursuit, though, as the suspect vehicle struck a curb, flattening two of its tires in the 1200 block of Cedar Post Lane.
Ramiro Rendon, 49, and Dora Elia Martinez, 36, were arrested. Both are accused of theft, and Rendon faces an additional charge for fleeing. They allegedly took a cooler from the bed of a truck parked near where they'd originally stopped.
"That item turned out to be a cooler full of 150 pounds of venison deer meat," said Spring Valley Village Police Chief Gary Finkelman.
Deer meat that didn't even make it to the freezer; its owner, we are told, just returned from a hunting trip.
Police say the pair stole more than just that meat, including items likely from at least one nearby garage. If you live in the area and know of anything missing or unusual, you can contact Spring Valley Village Police.
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