Delivery Van Stolen, Used in Robbery

You might call it a budding crime wave.

A delivery van for a Santa Ana flower shop was stolen Saturday afternoon when its driver left it unattended at a Costa Mesa office complex, police said. The van was used an hour later in the armed robbery of a Fountain Valley Pic ‘N’ Save.

The van was stolen about 2 p.m. when a driver for Conroy Flowers of Santa Ana left the keys in the ignition while making a delivery at South Coast Drive and Harbor Boulevard, said Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Clay Epperson.

A few minutes before 3 p.m., an unidentified man carrying an automatic handgun entered the Pic ‘N’ Save at 17950 Magnolia St. in Fountain Valley, said Lt. Larry Griswold of the Fountain Valley Police Department.

“He came in and demanded money from the register, took it, went out of the store, got in the van and drove off northbound on Magnolia,” Griswold said, adding that the robber escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash. No injuries were reported.

The van was described as a silver 1987 Dodge Caravan, with the license plate 2ESD662. Police ask that anyone with information call Costa Mesa police: (714) 754-5690.