Robber Sought at Evacuated O.C. Store

ALISO VIEJO —  Sheriff’s deputies evacuated a Target store Wednesday night while they searched for a man who entered the store after stealing a purse from a woman at a church, authorities said.

About 9:20 p.m., a man in his 20s walked into the Mission Lutheran Church in Laguna Niguel and asked to use the restroom. As he left, he took a purse on a couch and fled in a gray two-door car, Sheriff’s Lt. Richard Paddock said. The woman told deputies, who spotted a man matching the thief’s description walking in front of the Target at La Paz Road and Pacific Park Drive, Paddock said.

“Deputies evacuated the store to search for the suspect,” Paddock said. “They did locate a stolen vehicle that was identified as the vehicle that was used during the robbery and inside, they also located a purse.”

As of about 10:30 p.m., deputies were still inside the department store searching for the suspect they described as white, about 24, 6-foot-2 and about 185 pounds. He was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans with a denim hat, Paddock said.

“So far, no one has been hurt,” Paddock said.