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Three
men
and
one
juvenile
were
arrested
early
in
the
morning
of
Jan.
9
after
they
allegedly
committed
three
armed
robberies
in
Wilton
Manors
and
Fort
Lauderdale,
police
said.
The
incidents
came
on
the
heels
of
five
other
similar
robberies
in
the
area
in
the
past
two
weeks.
The
latest
robberies
occurred
around
midnight
Jan.
9.
They
involved
suspects
wearing
ski
masks
and
armed
with
a
rifle
and
a
handgun,
a
statement
from
the
Wilton
Manors
Police
Department
said.
A
victim
was
pistol-whipped
in
one
of
the
robberies.
According
to
police,
the
suspects
fled
the
area
in
a
purple
Ford
Taurus.
A
Wilton
Manors
officer
on
his
way
home
saw
the
suspects’
vehicle.
After
a
short
pursuit,
the
suspects
were
arrested
at
the
4700
block
of
NE
4th
Avenue
in
Oakland
Park,
Fla.
Police
arrested
Jefney
Philistin,
18;
Shane
Thomas
Pettas,
19;
Christopher
Ryan
Myers,
18;
and
a
15-year-old
juvenile.
The
four
are
suspects
in
the
previous
five
robberies
as
well,
police
said.
In
the
earlier
robberies,
witnesses
described
the
suspects’
vehicle
as
a
dark-colored
gray
SUV.
Those
incidents
targeted
late-night
bar
patrons
or
people
walking
alone,
police
said.
One
of
the
victims
was
Michael
Landers,
a
local
gay
resident,
who
had
just
left
Boom
nightclub
at
about
12:30
a.m.
on
Dec.
24
when
he
was
robbed
at
gunpoint
on
7th
Avenue.
about
three
blocks
from
the
Shoppes
of
Wilton
Manors.
Landers
described
those
suspects
as
black
males
and
said
they
were
driving
a
gray
or
silver
SUV.
They
took
$30
and
his
cell
phone
after
pointing
a
gun
to
his
head,
Landers
said.
In
a
similar
incident,
a
pedestrian
was
robbed
at
about
1
a.m.
on
Dec.
23
on
Wilton
Drive
just
north
of
the
Dairy
Queen
after
being
approached
from
behind
and
pushed
to
the
ground,
police
said.
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