Overview
- Freddie Alexander Lopez, 24, pleaded guilty to one federal count of interference with commerce by robbery on Friday and faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison.
- Prosecutors say the offenses happened over about a week and included a Jan. 27 knifepoint robbery at a Subway in Santa Ana, Jan. 30 incidents at a Fountain Valley Subway and a Yum Yum Donuts in Santa Ana, and a Feb. 1 attempted Subway robbery in Anaheim involving a replica firearm.
- Investigators linked Lopez to the crimes using surveillance footage from the businesses and cellphone location records that placed him near the scenes at the times of the robberies.
- Santa Ana police arrested Lopez during a Feb. 6 traffic stop and recovered a handgun or replica, a knife, a mask and glasses that matched items seen in the videos; he was briefly released in local proceedings before federal authorities arrested him on April 30 and he has been in federal custody since.
- The charge — interference with commerce by robbery — is the federal statute prosecutors use when robberies affect interstate commerce, and the case highlights security risks for late‑night, low‑staffed food outlets while sentencing and guideline calculations will determine Lopez’s actual prison term.