Lancaster police have arrested three city men who allegedly tried to rob several people at gunpoint early Thursday morning.
Charged are Carmelo Rivera Jr., 19, of the first block of North Mary Street; Jose Miguel Leon Jr., 20, of the 600 block of West Chestnut Street; and Jeron Antonio Copeland, 18, of the 300 block of South Ann Street, city police Detective Lt. Kent Switzer said.
All three suspects were charged by city police and Manor Township police with four counts each of robbery and three counts each of criminal conspiracy to commit robbery.
Rivera also was charged with two counts of violation of the Uniform Firearms Act, according to a news release issued late Thursday by Switzer.
According to the release, shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday, city police Officer Thomas Ginder was dispatched to an armed robbery in the first block of Pearl Street.
When he arrived at the scene, Ginder spoke to the victim, a 23-year-old city man who said he had been robbed at gunpoint by two Hispanic males.
The victim said he was approached by the suspects, both dressed in dark clothing, and that one displayed a small silver handgun and threatened him while the other took his wallet and cell phone.
The suspects then fled east on First Street, police said.
A short time later, city police Officer Eric Pannone was called to the 700 block of High Street for another armed robbery.
The victim said he was walking on High Street when two men threatened him with a handgun and took his wallet, Switzer said.
The suspects, who matched the descriptions of the men in the prior robbery, then ran south through a parking lot.
The victim also said that before being confronted by the suspects, he saw a small red vehicle pull into the lot.
City officers then received word of an armed robbery shortly before 3 a.m. at Stonemill and Doverfield roads in Manor Township.
The suspects matched the description of those from the earlier robberies, as did the vehicle they used, Switzer said. About an hour and a half later, city police Officers Joseph Harris and Justin Miller observed a red Mazda sedan at a traffic signal at Hershey Avenue and Wabank Street. They called Ginder and Pannone and were able to stop the car, which had three men in it, in the 800 block of Second Street. All three were searched for weapons, police said. Rivera had in his possession a black and silver Bersa .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun that matched the description of the one used in the robberies, and one of the others allegedly was holding loot from the robbery.
E-mail: mpennino@lnpnews.com