Police Suspect Mugging Victim Was Set Up By His Girlfriend

LAGUNA BEACH (CBS) — Police say their investigation into a mugging took a bizarre turn when they realized the victim was set up by his own girlfriend.

The couple was walking from the gated community of Irvine Cove to the beach when they were approached by a man wearing a bandanna and armed with a knife at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, said Lt. Jason Kravetz of the Laguna Beach Police Department.

The suspect, 29-year-old Tasmen Lamont Lorenson, allegedly forced the couple to the ground and said he'd stab them if they ran. He stole the man's car keys, wallet and new iPhone and, then, drove off in the victim's 2003 Mercedes-Benz C240, Kravetz said.

Laguna Beach police say they tracked down the car to a motel in Costa Mesa and that another suspect, 19-year-old Cassaira Leann Simmons, had been driving the vehicle. She was staying at the Harbor Bay Motel with Lorenson. Officers found the victim's wallet and phone inside the motel room.

Authorities then learned there was a third suspect involved -- it turns out the victim's girlfriend, 27-year-old Alana Cosette Hayes, set up the crime to get cash out of her boyfriend.

Officers say they caught up to Hayes and arrested her while she was with the victim.

Kravetz said the three suspects are associated with white supremacy groups in Orange County and are known users of methamphetamine.

Lorenson has been booked on charges of robbery, auto theft and conspiracy, and was being held on $50,000 bail. Simmons was charged with possession of stolen property, and was being held on $20,000 bail. Hayes was booked for robbery, auto theft, conspiracy and possession of a controlled substance, and was held on $50,000 bail.

The victim, a 26-year-old man from Rancho Santa Margarita, did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation.