Woman arrested in connection with armed robberies

Deepa Bharath

Police on Friday arrested a 19-year-old Indiana woman in connection

with two armed robberies at South Coast Plaza in February, officials

said.

Police officers from La Porte, Ind., arrested Sarah Marie Udell

after Costa Mesa Police investigators located her in that city after

months of detective work, said Sgt. Bob Ciszek.

Udell, who used to live in Tustin, had moved to Indiana about two

months ago, he said.

“But La Porte Police seemed to know who she was,” Ciszek said.

“They had made contact with her a few times. We don’t know for what,

but they knew her.”

Two men and a woman were arrested and convicted of the crimes in

February, he said.

Police on Feb. 25, arrested Christopher Shannon Martinez, 36, Adam

Avical Le Blanc, 30, and Robbyn Mae Rickard, 33, all of Santa Ana,

who snatched purses from two victims in the South Coast Plaza parking

lot on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23.

The fourth suspect had evaded police until now.

On one occasion, officials said, Rickard accosted a woman walking

in the Sears parking lot, forcibly took her purse and knocked her

down. The victim and another witness ran after Rickard, but Rickard

jumped into a car with the rest of her group. Police said one among

the group pointed a gun at the victim and the witness, who then

backed off.

The second incident happened outside the Nordstrom department

store when, officials said, Le Blanc demanded a purse from a victim

while displaying a gun tucked in his waistband. Police said the same

vehicle and group were involved in both robberies.

Both incidents happened at around 6:45 p.m. over the same weekend,

police said.

Udell was extradited from Indiana and brought back to California.

She is being held in Orange County jail in lieu of a $25,000 bail.

Udell is being charged with two counts of robbery, an enhancement

for use of a firearm and threat to terrorize, all felonies. She is

scheduled to be arraigned today at Harbor Justice Center in Newport

Beach.