Suspects Jailed in Robbery Spree

Two men suspected in more than 40 robberies in Orange County were arrested late Monday after they returned to a hotel they allegedly had held up six hours earlier, police said Tuesday.

Tyler McCulley, 18, of Tustin, and Corey Poulen, 21, of Santa Ana, returned to the hotel to retrieve something, police said. They did not disclose the items. The two men were arrested on suspicion of robbery and are being held at Santa Ana City Jail.

Brenden White, 20, of Tustin, was arrested with the two men on suspicion of possessing narcotics, and a 14-year-old girl was taken to Orangewood Children’s Home for questioning.

Authorities said the robberies began in November and occurred in a dozen cities from Yorba Linda to Mission Viejo. Santa Ana was hit hardest, with 13 robberies.

In Monday’s holdup, Santa Ana police Sgt. Carlos Rojas said, the men robbed a hotel at Dyer Road and the Costa Mesa Freeway, where they had been staying. Donning ski masks and carrying handguns, Rojas said, they demanded money from the clerk. The clerk handed them an undetermined amount and the men fled, he said.

The pair then robbed businesses in Garden Grove and Costa Mesa, Rojas said, but returned to the hotel’s parking lot about 11:45 p.m. Police had the hotel under surveillance in hopes the pair would return for the forgotten items, and when they did, Rojas said, they were arrested without incident.

Police said the men targeted hotels, liquor stores and video stores near freeways and made off with more than $18,000 during the spree.

No one was injured in any of the robberies.