Grand Rapids police are investigating three armed robberies that happened within an hour of each other, Tuesday night. Officers believe two of those robberies are related. All, though, involved the theft of cell phones.
The first one happened in the 500 block of Stocking Northwest, just before 8:00 p.m., Tuesday.
According to police, a couple was walking under I-196, east of Lane Avenue, when three men in their 20’s approached them with a gun. There was a brief struggle over the gun, resulting in a shot fired, but no one was hit. Police say the men got away with a cell phone.
Not long after, police responded to another robbery, this time near Sibley and Lane Avenue, in the Sibley School playground. Officers called it a strong-arm robbery, in which the suspects had a gun, but did not show it. Three young men, also described to be in their 20’s, got away with a cell phone.
Police say these two robberies could be connected.
A third and separate robbery happened at an apartment complex in the 2900 block of Marshall Avenue. Police say it was a Craigslist buy that went wrong. The buyer met a man in the parking lot. That’s when, officers say, a man with a gun came up behind the victim trying to buy a cell phone. There was a fight and the victim was shot in the hand. Officers say the suspects ran away.
If you have any information, call Grand Rapids police.
