Merced County men suspected in robbery-spree arrested

Surveillance images helped authorities identify two Merced County men who allegedly carried out a spree of store robberies this week, police said.

Gregory Lowery, 31, and Bryan Green, 27, are believed to have robbed two stores in Merced and one in Winton, gathering money later used to buy a car, Merced police reported.

The first robbery occurred Monday about 12:30 p.m. on Main Street in Merced. Two men walked into The K&K Oriental Market armed with handguns and demanded money from the clerks before fleeing with the cash, Sgt. Curt Gorman said in a news release.

About 15 minutes later, the men did the same thing at the U-Save Market in the 1800 block of Yosemite Parkway.

Witnesses from both incidents told police the suspects fled in a white four-door car.

When officers arrived at the scene, they were able to use surveillance video to identify the suspects.

Just an hour later, police received a similar robbery report out of Winton, where the Merced County Sheriff’s Office also identified Lowery and Green as the suspects.

With the help of the Merced Area Gang and Narcotic Taskforce (MAGNET), the suspects were tracked to Sacramento.

Lowery was stopped about 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, traveling in a car he purchased with the stolen money. He was arrested, brought back to Merced and booked into the Merced County Jail on several felony charges.

Green was arrested about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday after he turned himself in at the Merced Police Department. He also was booked into the Merced County Jail on several felony charges.

Both Green and Lowery have previous misdemeanor offenses involving drugs. They remained in John Latorraca Correctional Center on Thursday.

Merced police still are investigating the crimes. Anyone with information is asked to call 209-385-4707.

This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 6:58 PM with the headline "Merced County men suspected in robbery-spree arrested."