A Southern California man admitted Friday that he carried out a series of armed robberies and attempted robberies targeting three Subway restaurants in Orange County.
Freddie Alexander Lopez, 24, of Santa Ana, pleaded guilty to a federal robbery charge, acknowledging that he threatened cashiers with weapons at three Subway locations and a donut shop during an approximately six-day crime spree.
According to the FBI, Lopez followed a similar pattern at each business. He arrived late at night wearing a dark hoodie and a mask, walked up to the counter, ordered a bag of chips or another small item, then waited for the cashier to open the register before displaying a weapon and demanding cash.
Prosecutors said investigators tied Lopez to the robberies through surveillance video from the businesses, along with cellphone location data that placed him near the stores when the crimes occurred.
Surveillance footage shows Freddie Alexander Lopez robbing a Subway restaurant in Santa Ana, California, on Jan. 27, 2026. Lopez pleaded guilty to a federal robbery charge. (FBI)
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Court records show Lopez’s robbery spree started on Jan. 27, 2026, when he entered a Subway restaurant in Santa Ana at 11:57 p.m.
After threatening the cashier with a knife, Lopez fled with $300, according to the criminal complaint.
During the early morning hours of Jan. 30, Lopez entered a Subway in Fountain Valley and once again demanded money while threatening the cashier with a knife, according to the plea agreement.
“Give me all the money, or I’ll hurt you,” Lopez said, according to witnesses who spoke with law enforcement.
This time, the cashier refused and shut the cash register, prompting Lopez to flee on foot, according to the criminal complaint.
Surveillance footage shows Lopez attempting to rob another Subway restaurant in Fountain Valley, California, on Jan. 30, 2026, three days after the first robbery. (FBI)
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Less than 30 minutes later, Lopez robbed a Yum Yum Donuts store about 5-and-a-half miles from the Subway he had just targeted, investigators said.
Two days later, on Feb. 1, Lopez walked into a third Subway restaurant in Anaheim, per the criminal complaint.
Surveillance footage reviewed by the FBI showed Lopez was armed with what appeared to be a black pistol. When the female cashier refused to give him money, the footage showed him jumping over the counter and trying to wrestle the key to the register out of her hand.
After Lopez failed to get the key and could not open the register with the touch screen, he left the restaurant, according to the criminal complaint.
Surveillance footage shows Lopez brandishing what appears to be a pistol while trying to rob a Subway restaurant in Anaheim on Feb. 1, 2026. (FBI)
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On Feb. 6, the Santa Ana Police Department arrested Lopez during a traffic stop, believing his vehicle was the one that was driven by the suspect in the robberies, according to the FBI.
Officers found what appeared to be “the same handgun, knife, mask, and glasses used during the robberies,” the FBI said. Investigators noted that they found a replica gun in his car that appeared to match the one used in the Feb. 1 attempted robbery.
Another surveillance camera from the Anaheim restaurant shows Lopez fighting with the cashier over the cash register key. Authorities said Lopez could not get the key and left. (FBI)
After his arrest, Lopez was released ahead of his trial but was re-arrested on April 30 on the federal robbery charge.
Following his guilty plea, Lopez is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 2. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
