Police nab 3 toy gun robbers

Police on Tuesday arrested two men and a woman suspected of using a

toy gun in a string of robberies that netted them $22 in cash, a cellular

phone, a jacket, a pack of cigarettes and a notebook planner.

The trio -- Chelsea Gardner, 20, of Costa Mesa; Christopher Giles, 21,

of Santa Ana; and Darryn Murray, 21, of Joshua Tree -- were arrested

after midnight Tuesday and each charged with three counts of robbery

using replica guns, said Costa Mesa Police Lt. Dale Birney.

“It didn’t seem to be very well-planned,” Birney said.

The first robbery occurred at about 2 p.m. Monday, when one suspect

held up two men in a vehicle at TeWinkle Park and stole a $10 notebook

planner from them, police said. One of the victims noticed the gun was

fake and chased him with a large hunting knife, Birney said. The suspect

hopped into a vehicle with the two other suspects and fled.

The suspects “either tried to scratch off the orange [on the tip of

the gun], or they used a black marker to color it,” Birney said.