OC serial armed robbery suspect arrested, injured in officer-involved shooting

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- A man who, along with his twin brother, may be involved in a series of armed robberies in Orange County was arrested after he was injured in an officer-involved shooting, authorities said.

Police believe the suspect was involved in a series of at least eight increasingly violent armed robberies in Orange County

In one video, he is seen aggressively confronting and pistol-whipping a victim who didn't want to give up her purse.

After a video of the robbery was aired Wednesday, tips from the public poured in and investigators were led to a suspect and tracked him down Thursday.

The suspect was with his twin brother and another woman at a hotel when detectives began tracking them. They followed them to a Chevron station in Santa Ana and attempted to arrest them, when a confrontation ensued, and the suspect was shot.

The shooting occurred shortly after 5:30 p.m. at a Chevron near the intersection of Fairhaven and Grand avenues, after two males were stopped in connection with an investigation, according to the Santa Ana Police Department. No officers were injured.

Detectives went back to the hotel and took a woman into custody. Her exact connection to the crimes has not been specified.

Officials identified the twins as 48-year-old Timothy and Thomas Espinosa, but it was not immediately clear which twin was wounded in the shooting and the extent to which each was involved. Investigators are still trying to sort that out.

"They're twins," said Cpt. Anthony Bertagna of Santa Ana PD. "So are they both involved? Is just one involved? What's the woman's involvement?"

The injured suspect was transported to a hospital in stable condition.