Two Arrested in Garden Grove Car-Jacking : Crime: Arrests made within minutes after woman surrenders cash and her car at gunpoint. Authorities say such incidents are increasing.

A man and a woman were arrested on suspicion of armed robbery and car theft after a motorist was threatened with a handgun and robbed of her car and cash while stopped at a traffic light Saturday night.

The crime was the latest attempt in Orange County at car-jacking--theft by car thieves brandishing a weapon. Law enforcement officials call it a growing problem nationwide.

Garden Grove police said a 34-year-old woman was stopped at Hazard Avenue and Euclid Street about 9:40 p.m. when a passenger in the car next to her got out, pointed a handgun at her and demanded her money and car. The victim handed over $154 in cash and gave up her car to the man, who sped off. The driver of the other vehicle was wearing a stocking mask.

A passerby gave the victim a ride to a phone, where she called police. Within 10 minutes, a Garden Grove officer spotted the suspects’ car parked near the intersection of Brookhurst Street and Westminster Avenue, and parked behind a restaurant to wait. Shortly afterward, the other suspect drove up in the victim’s car, and the two were arrested.

Police said they recovered two handguns, a stocking mask, the stolen money and various other evidence they say links the two to the crime.

Alicia Guebara, 24, of Santa Ana, who was allegedly driving the suspects’ car, and Jose Carlos Steves, 26, also of Santa Ana, are being held in Orange County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail each.

To deal with the rise in this type of crime, President Bush this fall signed into law a 15-year mandatory sentence for car-jacking, and the director of the FBI ordered task forces across the country to target car-jackers. The surge in the crime was first pinpointed last year in Los Angeles, where police predict there will be 4,500 car-jackings this year.

Police advise motorists to lock their car doors, keep windows closed and avoid poorly lit streets whenever possible. They also suggest that a victim give up cars and other property instead of resisting.

In some cases, police have been successful in quickly recovering the cars and making arrests.

On Thursday, a woman in an Anaheim shopping center parking lot was forced to give up her purse and car. Two suspected car-jackers were arrested after a six-mile chase down the Riverside Freeway.