Merced police seek public’s aid in robbery investigations

Merced police are seeking the public’s help in identifying robbers in two armed robberies that occurred about one hour apart early Tuesday.

The first robbery was reported at 6:13 a.m. in the 3200 block of Denver Avenue, near the Loughborough area of Merced. Two 19-year-old men were robbed by two armed men in a small compact vehicle.

The victims had just exited a vehicle when they were approached by the robbers, one carrying a handgun and the other what appeared to be a rifle, the Merced Police Department reported in a news release.

“Both victims feared for their life and then quickly surrendered their wallets to the suspects. One victim was also carrying a laptop computer at the time of the robbery. The suspects also demanded the laptop computer from the victim,” police said in the statement.

The robbers were both described by police as Latino men in their early to mid-20s. One was described as having a thin build and the other a medium. They were last seen driving north on Denver Avenue.

A second robbery was reported about one hour later, around 7:10 a.m. in the 3300 block of G Street.

The victim, a 64-year-old man, had also just exited his vehicle when a man with a gun demanded his wallet.

“The victim then told the suspect that his wallet was inside his vehicle. The suspect then entered the victim’s vehicle and grabbed the victim’s wallet, cellphone and backpack,” police said in the news release.

The suspect was last seen heading north on G Street on foot. He was described as a Latino man in his early to mid-20s, about 5-foot-7 and approximately 140 pounds. He was wearing dark clothing.

No one was injured in either incident, police said.

Officers said they were trying to determine whether there are any connections between the two robberies.

This story was originally published December 10, 2014 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Merced police seek public’s aid in robbery investigations."