Police Arrest Three After Freeway Pursuit

Police arrested three Oakland men Thursday suspected of stealing mail from a mailbox as the homeowner looked on. The suspects then fled on the freeway.

When police finally caught up with Marcellus Lewis, 38; Kenyatta Island, 35, and Kent Battle, 27, they found checks stolen from the victim and hundreds of other checks from Pleasanton and throughout the Bay Area, according to a Pleasanton Police Department press release.

They also found account information, counterfeit travelers checks and other items.

About 9 a.m., a woman on Independence Drive called police to report that she'd seen the men steal mail from her curbside mailbox. An officer who happened to be in the area spotted the men speeding away in a black Cadillac Escalade. According to the press release, he radioed other officers and said the men were driving south on Sunol Boulevard.

Officers spotted the SUV headed north on Interstate 680 and stopped it on westbound Interstate 580; the incident caused a brief shutdown of the freeway near Foothill Road.

The driver kept to normal freeway speeds, but did not stop when officers tried to pull him over. No one was injured during the pursuit.

All westbound lanes were shut down and police arrested the three at gunpoint, according to an article in the Contra Costa Times.

The men were arrested on charges of mail theft, possession of stolen property and obstruction of justice for giving false identities.