SANTA ANA, WESTMINSTER : 7 Suspects Arrested in 2 Bank Robberies

Seven bank robbery suspects were arrested Monday after witnesses helped police track getaway cars allegedly used in two unrelated bank robberies, authorities said Tuesday.

A spokesman for the Santa Ana Police Department said investigators recovered $25,000 in cash and arrested four Fresno residents shortly after the robbery of a Wells Fargo Bank in the 1700 block of South Grand Avenue Monday afternoon .

Five minutes later, Westminster police arrested three Oceanside residents suspected in the robbery of $1,500 that morning from a Sanwa Bank in the 7700 block of Westminster Boulevard.

Martin Trevino Vargas, 42; Frances Rose Tapia, 40; Stephen Serna, 42, and Katherine Rosiles, 27, all of Fresno, were arrested after an unidentified couple spotted an armed man running from the Wells Fargo Bank to a green Ford Fairmont and decided to follow the car, Santa Ana Police Lt. Rick Hicks said.

Apparently unaware that they were being trailed, Hicks said, the suspects headed south through heavy traffic on Edinger Avenue.

Near Red Hill Avenue, the couple alerted a Tustin police officer, who radioed for assistance before making the arrest without incident at Mitchell Avenue.

Meanwhile, Westminster police took Henry Thomas Bottoms, 39; Lisa Marie Apodaca, 38, and Peter Safford Green, 38, all of Oceanside, into custody in the parking lot of a motel a few blocks from the Sanwa Bank.

In that case, Police Lt. Richard Main said, police were assisted by witnesses who provided a description of the alleged getaway car, a gold Chevrolet Camaro with Kentucky license plates.

One man had entered the bank, brandished a gun and demanded money from a teller before escaping, Main said. The three are being held in federal prison at Terminal Island, he added.

The suspects in the Wells Fargo robbery were being held on Tuesday in Orange County Jail.