Menlo Park police catch 2 armed home-robbery suspects; 1 at large

Police detained two men and were searching for a third after the trio allegedly robbed a home in Fremont, led police on a car chase and fired shots at officers before abandoning their vehicle in Menlo Park on Wednesday evening, police said.

Around 5 p.m., Fremont police responded to the scene of a home-invasion robbery in the 39800 block of Fremont Boulevard where there were reports of shots fired, officials said.

Witnesses gave investigators a description of the car the suspects were driving and a Fremont police detective spotted the vehicle on Highway 84. The detective waited for a marked Newark Police vehicle to show up and pursued the suspects in the area of East Palo Alto and Menlo Park, officials said.

The suspects turned into a business park on the 1300 block of Willow Road in Menlo Park, police said, and fired at pursuing officers.

The officers did not return fire and no one was injured, according to police.

The suspects then abandoned their vehicle and ran into a business park in the 1300 block of Willow Road. Police set up a perimeter in the area and were able to arrest two of the suspects.

The driver, Haloti Lauese, 22, of East Palo Alto was booked at San Mateo County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder, shooting from a motor vehicle, carrying a concealed weapon, resisting arrest and a probation violation.

Shawn Thomas, 19, of Sunnyvale was taken into custody and turned over to Fremont police.

Police said they recovered two guns following the chase, one near the abandoned car and another in the direction the suspects fled.

The third suspect remained at large and was described as having a skinny build, wearing dark colored pants and a light colored sweatshirt. He was last seen running east on Hamilton Court, police said.

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale

Photo: Google Maps Police detained two men and were searching for a third after the...



