Suspect arrested for pair of armed robberies in Orange County

Westminster police arrested a man who was allegedly connected to two armed robberies at convenience stores in early January. 

"The robberies took place within a few days and in close proximity to each other," Westminster Police Department officers said in a news release shared on Facebook. They didn't provide exact details on the dates or locations of the alleged crimes. 

Investigators obtained surveillance video footage from both robberies and determined that the same suspect was involved in each incident. 

"In each robbery, the suspect was seen carrying an assault style rifle under a towel and pointing it at the employee, demanding money," the release said. 

The suspect was eventually identified as Gabriel Sanchez. After they were able to obtain enough probable cause to arrest Sanchez, he was taken into custody and booked into Orange County Jail. 

"Search warrants served after the arrest yielded the location of an AR-15 style assault rifle," police said. 

As their investigation continues, Westminster police said that there is reason to believe that the two robberies may not have been isolated incidents and that they're continuing to investigate other incidents that potentially occurred under similar circumstances. 

Anyone who knows more was asked to contact detectives at (714) 548-3783.