FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Woman Is Arrested After Robbery, Chase

A Garden Grove woman suspected of robbing two businesses Wednesday is in custody after a police chase that ended when patrol cars bumped her car and forced her to stop in front of a busy golf course.

The woman, identified as Sandra Ann Arauza, 29, stumbled out of her car and threatened to kill herself by pointing a gun to her head. She finally surrendered, said police Sgt. Dann Bean.

About a dozen police officers had their guns and rifles pointed at the woman before she surrendered, Bean said. One officer who suffered a concussion was sent to Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, where he was treated and released, he said.

At about 1:35 p.m., police were alerted to a robbery at Nick’s Pizza D’Oro, 10585 Slater Ave.

Restaurant employees told investigators that a woman walked inside and approached the cashier, Bean said. The robber took out a large-caliber gun from her jacket and demanded all the money from the register, said Bean. The cashier ducked under a counter and the suspect ran out of the place, firing a shot at the business, he said. No one was hurt.

Her car was spotted a few blocks from the robbery by police officers on their way to the pizza parlor and a chase ensued, Bean said.

About six patrol cars joined the chase, which ended at Warner Avenue and Ward Street when several patrol cars slammed against the woman’s car, Bean said.

Bean said Westminster police suspect the woman may have been involved in the robbery of a tobacco shop in that city less than a half-hour before the attempted robbery at the pizza parlor, Bean said.

Arauza is in custody at Huntington Beach city jail on suspicion of armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and evading arrest.