Police investigating whether fast-food robberies were committed by the same gunman

Police in Costa Mesa are working with neighboring police departments to investigate whether there’s a connection between a robbery Tuesday at a local McDonald’s and about a dozen other robberies of Orange County fast-food restaurants this month in which a man with a handgun demanded cash and fled.

Tuesday’s robbery was reported at about 4:20 p.m. at a McDonald’s in the 3000 block of Bristol Street.

Witnesses told police that a man walked into the restaurant and handed a cashier a note demanding cash. The man had a handgun partially tucked in his waistband, police said.

“Fearful of being harmed, the cashier complied with the demand note and handed the suspect cash from her register,” police Lt. Greg Scott said in a news release.

A witness called police as the robber fled. A Huntington Beach police helicopter crew helped search for the man, but he was not found.

The incident was among a string of similar fast-food robberies across the county recently.

Fountain Valley police said four fast-food robberies that appear to be related have been reported in the city in the past week.

The first occurred at 8:19 p.m. July 19 at a Subway at 16373 Harbor Blvd. Police believe the same man also robbed a Roasting Water coffee shop at 11707 Edinger Ave. and a Del Taco at 17295 Brookhurst St. on Saturday. Then on Monday evening, a man robbed a KFC at 17239 Brookhurst.

In each case, the robber fled with cash, police said.

Also Monday night, a man with a handgun robbed a Chipotle Mexican Grill at 16241 Beach Blvd. in Huntington Beach and fled with about $600, police said.

Similar robberies were reported recently at a Del Taco in Orange, a Subway in Garden Grove, a Subway and a Jack in the Box in Westminster, and a Jack in the Box, an El Pollo Loco and a McDonald’s in Santa Ana, according to police.

Authorities described the robber as 25 to 35 years old, 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet tall with a medium to heavy build and short, black, curly hair. He has a medium complexion and sometimes wore dark glasses, a hat or a wig.

Fountain Valley police said the man has tattoos near his left ear and front and back collarbone.

Anyone with information about the robberies is asked to call the Fountain Valley Police Department at (714) 593-4485, the Costa Mesa Police Department detective bureau at (714) 754-5637 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at (855) TIP-OCCS (847-6227).

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN

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