Seal Beach Hit and Run Leads Police to Stickup Suspect

A hit-an-run Crash in Seal Beach Sunday night led to the arrest of a man suspected of robbing a pawn Placentia pawn shop, allegedly taking a silver bar worth about $2,000, authorities said.

Justin Mitchell, 27, of Fullerton Allard was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to Orange County jail records.

The Placentia Gold and Pawn, 1150 E. Yorba Linda Blvd., was robbed about 12:45 p.m. Saturday, Placentia police Detective Corinne Loomis said. The robber fired one shot into a display case and ran away with the silver bar, Loomis said.

Allard's arrest can be traced back to a hit-and-run collision Sunday evening in Seal Beach, Loomis said.

One of the motorists in the collision ran away, but authorities determined that one of the vehicles was a stolen car registered out of Fullerton, Loomis said.

Seal Beach police tracked Allard to a nearby motel, where they found the silver bar and a revolver, Loomis said.

Recalling media reports about the Placentia stickup, Seal Beach police arrested Allard because investigators also found clothes in the motel that matched what was worn by the robbery suspect, she said.

Allard was booked on suspicion of auto theft and hit-and-run and Placentia police will pursue robbery and burglary charges, Loomis said.