BRIEFLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Two suspected of Costa Mesa purse-snatchings

When Orange County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of kidnapping in Mission Viejo, the original charge didn’t pan out. But when they stopped the car described in the tip, it led them to two men accused of a Costa Mesa mugging that same night.

David Montes, 22, of San Juan Capistrano and Karl English, 21, of Laguna Nigel were arrested on suspicion of robbery, possession of stolen property, and narcotics possession, Costa Mesa police said.

Two 16-year-old girls were walking on Fairview Road near Orange Coast College when a masked man confronted them, police said. While showing the girls what looked like a silver handgun, the robber took their purses. Then he ran to a black Acura driven by a second person. The girls were unharmed.

At that point the robbers might have escaped, but a seemingly unrelated call to sheriff’s deputies in Mission Viejo put the men suspected of the crime into authorities’ hands that same night. Deputies pulled over Montes in a 1993 black Acura because an anonymous caller said the 17-year-old girl in the passenger seat had been kidnapped, said Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Lloyd Downing.

During the stop, they noticed he and his car matched descriptions of a suspect and the getaway car used in the Costa Mesa robbery, Downing said. It did not appear that the girl was kidnapped, Downing added.

A search of the car uncovered at least one stolen purse, along with heroin and methamphetamines, Costa Mesa police said.

Deputies put Montes under arrest and seized the car, which is registered to English, Downing said. When English showed up to retrieve the vehicle, they arrested him too — he fit the description of the second suspect in the robbery, Downing added.

The men were taken to Costa Mesa City Jail. Montes has a parole violation and is not eligible for bail, and English is being held on $100,000 bail, police said.

Man robs First Bank and Trust in Costa Mea

A man robbed the First Bank and Trust, 3001 Harbor Blvd., at about noon Wednesday without a weapon.

Costa Mesa police said the man slipped a threatening note to a teller, received an unspecified amount of cash and left the building. A woman behind the wheel of a white compact car with minor damage to the right door was waiting for him outside, and they drove off without incident.

Police said the teller did not have the note and could not recall its exact wording.