Bandit Trio Robs Irvine Restaurant

Three masked bandits armed with sawed-off shotguns robbed an Irvine restaurant of between $4,000 and $7,000 early Monday, police said.

The trio, wearing jeans, blue sweat shirts and ski masks, entered the Rusty Pelican restaurant on Main Street about 1 a.m. and forced the manager to open the safe, Irvine Police Sgt. Steve Olson said.

During the robbery, one of the suspects used a “walkie-talkie,” apparently to communicate with an unseen lookout, Olson said. The bandits then herded the unidentified manager and four employees into a walk-in refrigerator and ordered them to stay there at least 15 minutes.

The restaurant was closed at the time of the robbery and no customers were inside. Olson said there were no shots fired and no one was injured. An investigation was continuing, he added.