Tied Up in Traffic, Robbery Suspect Gets Rounded Up
Getting caught in a traffic jam took on new meaning for a Laguna Beach man Saturday afternoon.
Police said Gregory Van Sexton, 27, became stuck in traffic after a five-car collision about 4 p.m. blocked both directions of Coast Highway just north of Laguna Beach. Injuries in the crash were minor, but the tie-up lasted until about 6 p.m., the California Highway Patrol said.
The problem for Van Sexton, police said, was that about 4:30 p.m., he had robbed a Circle K store at Balboa Boulevard and Coast Highway and then a Mobil gas station at Bayside Drive and Coast Highway here.
He then headed down Coast Highway in his blue Toyota pickup, police said.
“He probably wishes he had gone north instead of east,” Newport Beach Police Sgt. Mike McDonough said.
Officers armed with a description arrested him in traffic without incident, police said.
No weapon was seen at the robberies, and no one was injured, police said. The Mobil station robbery netted $30, and the amount taken from Circle K was unknown, police said.
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