LAWRENCE | Three men were robbed at gunpoint about 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Just 24 hours later one of the accused robbers was in custody after detectives spotted a car matching the description of the one used in the robbery.
The three victims met police at Erving Avenue and Short Street and told them they were walking to a home on Wilmont Street when they saw a mid- to late-'90s black Ford Taurus with fancy wheel covers and three men in it.
The victims told police the three men approached them and one of them had a gun.
They demanded in both Spanish and English that the victims hand over all of their possessions. They took a cell phone, personal papers and $25 cash before fleeing.
Thursday night, detectives patrolling in North Lawrence spotted a black Ford Taurus and followed it to Holly Street, where it stopped in the middle of the street.
The man inside got out and ran into an apartment building and came out a few minutes later.
After talking to the man, later identified as Adriano Ortiz, 21, 61 Salem St., he was arrested for driving without a license,
During an inventory of the car, the detectives spotted a pistol underneath the arm rest.
They secured the car and sought a search warrant. The car was towed to Coady's garage with the firearm still inside and was locked inside the garage pending the receipt of the search warrant.
Police then created a photo array and showed it to one of the victims, who picked Ortiz's photo out as being one of the men who had robbed him.
Ortiz was also charged with armed robbery with a firearm and possession of a firearm without a license.
