LOS ANGELES -- A group of thieves smashed windows at department store at a luxury mall in Los Angeles late Monday, triggering a police pursuit, police said.

       The latest incident in a trend of smash-and-grab crimes targeted a Nordstrom store at The Grove retail and entertainment complex.

       The group struck around 10:40 p.m., said Officer Drake Madison, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman.

       Officers pursued an SUV involved in the crime, the chase ended in South Los Angeles and three people were taken into custody, he said.

       The number of people involved in the crime was not known, Madison said.

       The Grove incident followed a weekend of similar smash-and-grab thefts in the San Francisco Bay Area and Beverly Hills.