A 52-year-old Garden Grove man was charged Thursday with a string of eight robberies in Orange County.
David Cruz Zamarripa Jr. was charged with eight felony counts of robbery with sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a gun, according to court records.
The defendant was arrested Tuesday, according to Garden Grove Police Department Sgt. Nick Jensen.
Police were investigating a string of armed robberies since the start of the year and noticed that five had similar characteristics, according to the department.
Detectives contacted law enforcement agencies elsewhere in the county and learned there were three more outside of Garden Grove that matched the same method of operation, police said.
Police arrested Zamarripa, who was under surveillance, as he was leaving a motel in Garden Grove, and said they recovered evidence from the robberies as well as a possible weapon used in the holdups.
The dates of the robberies were Jan. 2, 5, 7, 12, 16 and 18, according to court records.