2 Teens Arrested as Suspects in Series of Mile Square Park Heists
Two Santa Ana teen-agers suspected of committing at least five robberies at Mile Square Regional Park in the last month were arrested after officers chased them down in the park, police said Thursday.
Investigators have been patrolling the vicinity of Ward Street and Edinger Avenue because of a recent rash of robberies near that portion of the park, Police Sgt. Darryl Nance said.
On Wednesday shortly before 7:30 p.m., officers saw two men enter the park. Minutes later, several people approached the officers and reported that two men had taken their money and valuables at gunpoint, Nance said.
Officers searched the park and arrested two people on suspicion of robbery after the victims identified them as their attackers, Nance said.
Javier Ayala, 18, and a 15-year-old boy, whose name was not released because of his age, were turned over to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department because the alleged robbery had occurred in a portion of the park belonging to the county, Nance said.
A handgun believed to have been used in Wednesday’s robbery was found in the lake at the park, he said.
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