Robbery may be linked to others

Andrew Edwards

A Laguna Beach convenience store was robbed Tuesday by suspects

police believe are to blame for a string of crimes across Orange

County.

According to Laguna Beach police, two men armed with semiautomatic

handguns robbed a 7-11 store in the 31700 block of South Coast

Highway shortly after 10 p.m. The suspects are reported to have

gotten away with about $400 in cash and two cartons of cigarettes.

No injuries related to the robbery were reported.

Police said the incident was apparently the suspects’ first holdup

in Laguna Beach, but police in other cities have been monitoring

similar crimes over the past two months.

“Santa Ana believes these guys are responsible for several

robberies throughout Orange County since Nov. 11,” said Laguna Beach

police Sgt. Greg Bartz.

Santa Ana police have linked at least 21 robberies in multiple

cities to the same pair of suspects. Santa Ana police officer Mario

Corona said the pair have targeted convenience stores, video stores

and motels, and have worn black ski masks during the robberies.

The suspects in the 7-11 robbery are both described as white men

in their 20s, with slim to medium builds. One man is reported to have

worn a red hooded sweatshirt, dark pants and dark tennis shoes. The

second man reportedly was dressed in a dark hooded jacket with gray

lining and striped on the sleeves and back, dark pants and gray

tennis shoes.

According to police both suspects covered their faces with black

ski masks.

Santa Ana police are operating what Corona called a “network” to

keep police in other cities informed.

“They’ll just give us whatever information they have,” Bartz said.

Cities allegedly struck by the suspects cover a sizeable chunk of

Orange County. Laguna Beach police believe the suspects have

committed robberies in Lake Forest, Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach.

Costa Mesa police believe three of the 21 robberies occurred in

that city. Lt. John FitzPatrick said suspects matching the “exact

same” description are believed to be responsible for two robberies on

Dec. 21 and one on Tuesday, the same day as the Laguna incident.

Corona named Tustin, Garden Grove, Orange and Irvine as other

cities believed to have been hit by the suspects. However, he said

Santa Ana police are not linking the suspects to any robberies

committed in Huntington Beach.

“I don’t think Huntington Beach and ours ... are related,” he

said.

However, Huntington Beach police are investigating a Sunday night

robbery at a Subway store in the 6400 block of Edinger Avenue as

being the work of the same suspects.

Huntington Beach police Lt. Janet Perez said there is a “strong

indication” the robberies were related.

Descriptions of the Huntington Beach suspects differ from the 7-11

suspects. The pair who police believe robbed the Subway are described

as being a man and a woman, a reason Corona said the crimes may be

unrelated.

“That’s another crew,” he said.

Accounts of the robberies are also different. While the Laguna

suspects are reported to have both pointed their weapons at two store

employees, in Huntington Beach it is not clear whether the suspects

were armed or not.

Police accounts of the Subway robbery describe the male suspect as

having pulled up his shirt to suggest he was carrying a firearm, but

in that incident the clerk did not actually see a weapon.

One similarity between the Huntington and Laguna robberies is that

no getaway vehicle was seen at either location.

Laguna police are not investigating the robbery in connection with

a string of Downtown burglaries that occurred earlier in the month.

“We don’t think there’s any relation,” Bartz said.