Two people were having breakfast right next to a pair of detectives, but they still ran away without paying for their meal at a Palm Springs restaurant, police said.
The dine and dashing attempt was futile, and Shawn Deans and Shona Morrison were soon taken into custody following a chase Monday morning, according to Palm Springs police.
Their table was right next to one occupied by the detectives at Elmer's Restaurant, 1030 E. Palm Canyon Drive. The detectives were in plain clothes, but their badges and guns were exposed, Sgt. William Hutchinson said.
At about 8:30 a.m., the detectives watched the couple walk from their table and noticed they acted "a little suspicious," according to police.
After the couple left, the detectives spoke to restaurant staff and learned they took off without paying for their food.
The officials walked outside and witnesses pointed them in the direction of the fleeing couple.
They were spotted heading south across Palm Canyon toward the rear of some hotels and they tried to avoid the detectives by separating, according to police.
But the detectives caught up to the suspects and detained them at two locations across the street from the restaurant.
Deans, 27, and Morrison, 35, were arrested without incident on suspicion of probation violation, burglary and defrauding an inn keeper, according to police.