GARY—Three Brunswick men have been charged with three armed robberies that occurred on the city’s west side in the fall, and investigators believe they may be linked to other similar violent crimes.
Arrest warrants have been issued for Jessie L. Mathews, 20, of 140 Clark Road; Andrew Charles Ford, 22, of 607 King St.; and Darrius L. Smith, 24, also of 607 King St.
Detective Lorenzo Davis said the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force is searching for the suspects.
Ford is accused of robbing a tow truck driver Sept. 2 when the victim went to 4th Avenue and Matthews Street to meet a customer about selling a truck. The truck driver said that as he spoke to a man about the tow, another man pointed a gun at him and said, “give me all your money,” the probable cause affidavit states. His accomplice reached into the victim’s pocket and took his cash, court records state. The two robbers left in a car with two other men, the affidavit states. The victim tentatively identified Smith as one of the other suspects, but Smith was not charged in this case.
Smith is charged with armed robbery and criminal confinement for a Sept. 22 robbery that also involved a tow truck driver, a truck for sale and a meeting at 4th Avenue and Matthews Street, court records state. The driver met two men, who arrived on foot and took his cash, keys, wallet and other items from him at gunpoint. The driver told Sgt. Dan Callahan that Smith searched his truck and also stole his iPod and eye drops, the probable cause affidavit states.
Matthews is charged with two counts of armed robbery and one count each of criminal confinement and battery by means of a deadly weapon for an Oct. 9 robbery of a pizza delivery driver and the driver’s girlfriend.
The couple went to 4th Avenue and Hanley Street about 9:45 p.m. and the driver walked up to the house where a man was waiting at the door, the probable cause affidavit states. As two men, one with a handgun, took cash from the driver, two other men walked to the car and took the woman’s cellphone. The woman told police her 7-year-old son was in the car during the robbery, the affidavit states.
Investigators note that a rash of similar robberies occurred in the Brunswick neighborhood in the fall, and they believe the three men charged could be involved in others. Anyone with information about these crimes can call Callahan at 881-1210 or Davis at 881-4738.