A woman suffered minor pellet wound injuries after struggling with masked gunmen at 7:40 p.m. Saturday while walking to her car near Pearl Street and Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, police said.
Three men were arrested in Westminster a short time later and evidence linking the occupants to the Laguna robbery was found in their car, Sgt. Louise Callus said.
The weapons used were found to be air soft pistols, Callus said.
Kevin Pham, 19, and James Lam, 22, both of Garden Grove, as well as Dung Nguyen, 20, of Westminster, were charged with suspicion of robbery and conspiracy and held for $100,000 bail, police said.
Police cracked the case with alacrity thanks to a witness who provided a description of the getaway vehicle and its license plate, which was broadcast to law enforcement agencies countywide. A Westminster officer recognized the vehicle and set up surveillance near the registered owner’s home, Callus said. The car returned to the area around 9 p.m. when the trio was arrested, she said.
The bandits seized a purse from a 47-year-old Huntington Beach woman, who was walking to her vehicle and was approached by two suspects wielding black guns concealed under towels, Callus said. The victim suffered a small cut to her finger and a small red mark in the center of her back as a result of a pellet wounds, she said.