STEVE LYTTLE
Score it: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police 3, Robbers 0.
Police were very successful late Monday night and early Tuesday in Charlotte, nabbing suspects in three armed robbery cases. The arrests came within an hour of each other in different parts of the city.
Two of the three cases were related, a trend with police say is quite common.
The two related robberies happened within a quarter-mile distance on Eastway Drive.
Police say two men, one armed with a handgun, robbed another man of his 1995 Chevrolet Silverado around 10:30 p.m. in the 2100 block of Eastway Drive.
Moments later, another man was robbed by two men at the corner of Eastway Drive and Bentley Place. The victims gave similar descriptions of the suspects, and police across the city were alerted..
A short time later, police in the Providence Division of southeast Charlotte spotted the stolen Chevrolet and arrested a man who was inside. Police suspect the man they arrested was involved in the two Eastway Drive robberies. They are searching fot the second suspect.
A few minutes before midnight, a man in the 5700 block of Electra Lane, off Idlewild Road near East Independence Boulevard, told police he was robbed and beaten by four men. Police responded quickly and arrested one of the suspects. Within a few hours, they reported catching two of the remaining three suspects in the case.
Investigations are continuing in both cases.
Charlotte Observer (http://www.charlotte.com/)