Married Couple Arrested in Robbery Spree

A Costa Mesa man and his wife were arrested in Yorba Linda late Tuesday after an alleged robbery spree, police said.

Tyler Kovacs, 26, and his 25-year-old wife, Karen, both of Costa Mesa, were picked up by Irvine police detectives at a long-term motel in Yorba Linda Tuesday night, Irvine police Lt. Julia Engen said.

Tyler and his wife are suspects in an iPhone robbery outside a coffeeshop at Alton Parkway and Jeffrey Road in Irvine about 5 p.m. Monday, Engen said.

According to Engen, Tyler approached a man and asked to borrow his phone inside the coffee shop.

When the victim gave him the phone, Tyler Kovacs allegedly tried to run from the scene but was caught by the man outside the shop. A fight ensued and Kovacs broke free, fleeing in a getaway car allegedly driven by his wife.

The Kovacses are also suspects in an attempted residential burglary in which Tyler allegedly tried to rifle through a woman's car after she pulled into her garage in Irvine. When the woman went back to her vehicle, she allegedly found Tyler inside and chased him from the scene. He again fled in a car allegedly driven by his wife, according to Engen.

Nothing was stolen in that failed burglary attempt, Engen added.

The Kovacses were booked on suspicion of robbery, burglary and conspiracy and held at the Orange County jail, according to jail records. Tyler Kovacs was behind bars on a no-bail probation warrant hold. Bail for his wife was set at $70,000.