Orange : Tipster Leads Police to Suspects in Robberies

Only a day after police appealed for help from the public, an anonymous tipster led investigators Thursday to a couple who police say have been specializing in holding up stores along North Tustin Avenue since October.

Officers arrested Laura Maureen Hansen, sometimes known as Laura Webber, 19, and her companion, David Alan Eimer, 24, at their apartment at 1350 N. Cambridge St., within half a mile of some of the robberies.

Police said Eimer is on parole on a kidnaping conviction in Washington state.

Investigators said the woman has “unique scars” similar to those observed by one robbery victim. A .45-caliber revolver, clothing and a purse similar to those seen during the robberies were recovered from the couple’s apartment and garage, police said.

Officers said the robberies began Oct. 28 and followed a simple pattern: A young, thin woman would enter a retail business with few employees on the premises, pull a large revolver and demand money. Some victims saw her driven away by a man, police said.

In all, about $3,700 was stolen, but no money was found at the scene of the arrests, officers said.

Police said that after drawings of the suspect were distributed to newspapers and shown on television Wednesday, “numerous” tips were telephoned to investigators.

The tipster who led officers to the suspects said the woman had been bragging about the holdups, police said.