Punch-and-grab robbery suspects sought

A pair of punch-and-grab robberies over the weekend in Costa Mesa bore several similarities, but police have not determined if the incidents are connected, authorities said Monday.

Both robberies occurred on the same block of Shalimar Drive and involved a lone victim who was slugged in the face before having his possessions taken. One of the victims was robbed at gunpoint, police said.

The first robbery occurred between 9:30 and 10 p.m. Saturday near Shalimar Drive and Pomona Avenue, where a man in his 30s was approached by a stranger, Sgt. Bob Ciszek said.

The stranger called out to the man, then walked up and hit him in the face several times, Ciszek said. He grabbed $60 out of the man’s hand and ran off, he said.

Another robbery occurred near the same location just after 11 p.m. Sunday night when a Domino’s delivery driver had four pizzas stolen out of his hands, police said.

As the delivery man was searching for an address, a teen called to him while another teen came out of the shadows with a handgun, Ciszek said. The robber holding the firearm punched the victim in the face, grabbed the pizzas and fled with the other teen, Ciszek said.