Two arrested after shoplift, police chase in Concord

Two people were arrested Saturday afternoon after allegedly leaving a store with stolen merchandise, and then leading police on a chase through North Concord in a stolen van. 

Two people were arrested Saturday afternoon after allegedly leaving a store with stolen merchandise, and then leading police on a chase through North Concord in a stolen van, Concord police said on social media.

The initial police call late Saturday afternoon was of a shoplift from an unnamed downtown Concord auto parts business. A store employee wrote down the getaway van's license plate number, which Concord police dispatchers found was stolen, police said.

Police spotted the van on Concord Avenue near state Highway 242, and a pursuit led police officers first onto Highway 242 and then onto North Concord streets, including East Olivera Road past the Pixie Playland park.

With the help of a Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office helicopter, Concord police pulled back from the pursuit and were guided to the suspects, who tried to abandon the white van on a residential Concord 
street. Two men were arrested and taken to the Martinez Detention Facility jail.

Further specifics were not immediately available Saturday night.