COSTA MESA : Two Arrested in Stun Gun Attack

Two local residents remained in custody Sunday after allegedly attacking a South Coast Plaza shopper with a “stun gun” in an unsuccessful robbery attempt, police said. Nancy Juarez Cruz, 34, and Mausour Hashemi, 36, both of Costa Mesa, were arrested on suspicion of attempted armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon in the attack. They were held on $50,000 bail each, police said. Costa Mesa police said that Cruz and Hashemi approached a shopper in the mall parking lot about noon Saturday, and Cruz allegedly began attacking the woman with the stun gun, shocking her in the neck, face, arms, stomach and leg. Hashemi then allegedly pointed what was believed to be a real gun at the victim’s neck, police said, but she struggled free. Stun guns, which are legal, send out electronic charges from two metal prongs, shocking the victim and in some cases rendering the person unconscious, according to Costa Mesa Sgt. Neil Leveratt. The victim of Saturday’s attack, Debora Tishuk, 24, of Newport Beach was hospitalized briefly with welts on her skin, police said.