San Diego

A San Diego man arrested Saturday on suspicion of robbery has been linked by police to 16 of the 18 robberies known to police as “the east side knife series” that began in early November, police spokesman Bill Robinson said.

Brian Keith Wearren, 22, who lives on 39th Street, was arrested at 1:15 p.m. Saturday in the 3800 block of Swift Avenue, after he was spotted by Detective J. W. Boyd of the Robbery Special Detail, which had been attempting to track down a thief responsible for a series of armed robberies in East San Diego.

Wearren is being held on 16 robbery counts at County Jail in Chula Vista, in lieu of $63,000 bail.

Many of the robberies occurred at gas stations, flower shops, doughnut shops and bars, Robinson said. A knife and handgun were seized when Wearren was arrested, he said.