Police: Men use pepper spray in robbery near Triangle

Costa Mesa police are looking for three men suspected of robbing two men — after pepper spraying one of them — near The Triangle on Sunday evening.

The two victims — a 21-year-old Norco resident and a 24-year-old from Anaheim — were sitting on a bench facing Harbor Boulevard just outside the shopping center when they were approached by the three men at about 6 p.m., authorities said.

Two of the aggressors demanded a cellphone that one of the victims was holding and then one of the bunch grabbed it, a Costa Mesa Police Department news release said.

When the victim tried to grab it back, one of the men sprayed an orange foam, later determined to be some type of pepper spray, “directly into the victim’s face,” according to police.

Before the three men ran away, one snatched the second victim’s backpack off the bench, the release said. The backpack contained clothes and a wallet, among other items, it said.

The man who had been pepper sprayed was taken to Hoag Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries, the release said.

Police are asking anyone with information about the incident to call the department’s detective bureau hotline at (714)754-5205.

—Jill Cowan

Twitter: @JillCowan