Police investigating 4 reported robberies by trio of men in northwest St. Paul

KSTP

[KSTP]

Police are investigating a string of robberies in northwest St. Paul.

According to incident reports, police responded to four separate robbery reports in close to two hours Monday.

The first incident happened near the intersection of Arlington Avenue W. and Grotto Street just before 7 a.m. Police said a 56-year-old man was bleeding from the left side of his head when officers arrived. According to the incident report, the man told police he was jogging west on Arlington Avenue when a car pulled up on the other side of the street, three men wearing black ski masks jumped out, ran over to him and tackled him. The victim told police one of the men then hit him in the head with a "billy club" or small bat, and they went through his pockets and took his cellphone. The men then got back in the car and drove away.

The second robbery happened about an hour later near the intersection of Como Boulevard E. and Rose Avenue W. Responding officers found a 40-year-old man who said he was walking on Como Boulevard when three men wearing dark clothing approached him. As they got within about 10 feet of him, the victim said one of the men yelled "get him" and they started punching the victim in the head. After he fell to the ground, the suspects demanded money, went through his pockets, took his wallet and his watch and then ran away.

About an hour after that, just before 9 a.m., police were called to the intersection of Cromwell Avenue and Bayless Place. When officers arrived, they spoke with a 72-year-old man who said he was walking south on Cromwell Avenue after leaving a church meeting when three men approached him from behind. The victim said one of the men punched him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. The other two men then got on him and grabbed his cellphone, but after looking at the phone one of the men said it had no value and they threw it back at the man before running away.

Finally, at about 9:05 a.m., officers were called to the 900 block of Raymond Avenue. Incident reports say a 19-year-old man told police he was walking south on the sidewalk next to Raymond Avenue when he was suddenly punched in the head from behind. He was then thrown into a snowbank and saw three men standing over him. The victim said the men went through his pockets, took his cellphone, wallet and house keys, and then ran to a car that was stolen earlier in the day and took off.

None of the four victims required medical attention.

It's unclear whether the incidents are actually related. No descriptions of the men were provided.

Police investigating series of armed robberies in St. Paul