Orange County authorities investigating string of armed robberies

ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) -- Surveillance video shows a man wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers hat walking into an ARCO gas station in Anaheim late Tuesday night.

Armed with a gun in his left hand, police say he demanded money from the clerk and then left quickly.

"When he passed me, he took his hand and he put it on his shotgun. He walked by my co-worker and he said, 'Hey, give me the money,'" an ARCO gas station employee said.

Anaheim police say they're reviewing surveillance video because there were two other armed robberies at convenience stores in Orange County overnight.

Detectives are investigating whether the robberies are connected.

"We are reviewing video to see if we can match something up. Witnesses' descriptions, being what they are, vary greatly," Anaheim Police Sgt. Daron Wyatt said.

Authorities say the second armed robbery occurred at an ARCO gas station near Trask Avenue and Euclid Street in Garden Grove around 2:30 a.m. The third robbery was reported at a 7-Eleven in Huntington Beach.

In both cases, police say witnesses described a similar suspect carrying a silver handgun.

"The clerk pulled out the cash drawer, threw it at the suspect. The cash drawer fell to the ground. At that time, the suspect started grabbing money out of the drawer," Huntington Beach police Officer Jennifer Marlatt said.

Huntington Beach police say the clerk chased the man out of the store, tackling him before he got away.

All three police departments are now working together.

"Our suspect description is similar to the one in Garden Grove. They will have to contact the detectives and the other agencies," Marlatt said.

If you have any information about these crimes, you're asked to call Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.