Tijuana Trio Held in Series of Robberies

Two men and a 16-year-old juvenile, all from Tijuana, have been charged in connection with a series of armed robberies that began in San Diego Wednesday night and ended in Tustin Thursday morning when they surrendered to a sheriff’s deputy on the Santa Ana Freeway.

Armando A. Sanchez, 21, and Jorge A. Z. Sanchez, 20, were booked into Orange County Jail where bail was set at $50,000. The 16-year-old was taken to Juvenile Hall.

Investigators suspect the men committed a $700 holdup at an AM-PM Mini Market at 26001 La Paz Road, Mission Viejo, shortly before 3 a.m. Thursday. An attendant was robbed of cash and a case of Coca-Cola at gunpoint. A watch and cash was taken from a customer who entered the store while the robbery was under way.

They Surrendered

A description of a blue van driven by the robbers, was broadcast, and an officer spotted a vehicle that fit the description shortly afterward on the Santa Ana Freeway near Red Hill Avenue in Tustin. After a brief pursuit, the men stopped and surrendered.

Sheriff’s investigators said they believe the trio also held up a Winchell’s Donuts in Mission Viejo and a Union 76 gas station in San Clemente before the AM-PM robbery. San Diego County authorities are investigating a connection with robberies in San Marcos and Carlsbad Wednesday night.

Sheriff’s Lt. Dick Olson said investigators were attempting to obtain a search warrant and would probably go through the van today.