LAWRENCE — Three armed, masked men who were captured Friday night after barricading themselves inside a South Union Street convenience store are suspects in numerous other robberies in the city — including at least six this month, according to police.
Two of the men have already been charged in one of those other robberies, Lawrence police Chief John Romero said yesterday.
“We believe these individuals have gang affiliations as well,” Romero said, declining to elaborate.
The three men tried to shoot their way out of a locked back door, but failed and surrendered when police surrounded the South Union Market at 280 S. Union St. Friday night.
Two of the men were charged with a Jan. 9 robbery on Shawsheen Road, Romero said.
“And this whole group is suspected in as many as a half dozen robberies in the last month, including one in which a man was shot in the leg. They’re all punks, 18 and 19 years old,” the chief said.
Those arrested Friday night were identified as:
Michael Tesaun Alicea, 19, 59 W. Laurel St.
Richard Mora, 18, of Lawrence, no street address given.
Ruben Saldana, 18, 309 Prospect St.
They are charged with robbery while armed and masked, kidnapping, unlawful possession of a firearm, discharge of a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling and unlawful possession of ammunition.
The kidnapping charge relates to the seizure and manhandling of an employee at the South Union Market who was found inside a freezer at the store after the men surrendered.
“That woman was extremely traumatized. She hid inside the refrigerator,” the chief said.
Romero said police found one weapon, which he described as a .22-caliber machine gun.
He added that police are also looking for a suspected getaway driver who was seen pulling away from the scene in a maroon, four-door, American-made car, possibly an Oldsmobile, as police arrived.
Romero said Alicea and Mora have also been charged in the Shawsheen Road robbery on Jan. 9, when a man was robbed of $300 when he arranged through Facebook to meet someone to buy an iPhone.
He added that the three men arrested last night and their getaway driver are also suspected in at least six other holdups, including one on Jan. 10 at the Kailey Market at 324 Prospect St.
Police said four armed men stormed into the store about 9:15 p.m. wearing Halloween masks, one of them a “Joker” mask.
A man in the store was knocked to the ground and shot in the leg.
Witnesses said one of the men carried a red golf bag with what appeared to be a shotgun sticking out of it; another had a rifle; and two had handguns.
Four shots were fired after they fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.
“This is a very active investigation, and these are dangerous people,” Romero said.
Raw: Train Derails After Overpass Collapse
Raw: Rescues From San Antonio Flooding
Raw: French Soldier Stabbed in Throat Near Paris
Mayor: Person Killed in San Antonio Flooding
Raw: Apple 1 Computer Sells for More Than $650k
Hagel Urges Cadets to End Scourge of Sex Assault
Raw: Gay Rights Activists March in Ukraine
Bus Fire Kills 16 Children, Teacher in Pakistan
Raw: Pakistan Election Results Protested
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
