Shaker Heights police are investigating three armed robberies that occurred last Friday and Saturday.
The first two incidents occurred along the Larchmere border with Cleveland last Friday evening. The first involved a 62-year-old Cleveland man who was walking near Larchmere and Coventry when he was approached by three men in their late teens or early 20s, one brandishing a silver revolver and robbed of his laptop and wallet.
Roughly ten minutes later suspects matching the same description robbed a 16-year-old Shaker Heights resident a few blocks away at Chesire and Larchmere.
"Very, very out of character," said Larchmere merchant Lynn Alfred Hanson. "These are the first major incidents since I've been here."
That's been 16 years for her, nearly double that for Marc Goodman who owns an antique shop across the street.
"Hard times and so people are desperate and stupid," said Goodman. "Very unusual."
The area is patrolled by both Cleveland and Shaker Heights police plus a private security patrol paid for by the merchants and local residents.
The third incident occurred just before midnight Saturday in the 17000 block of Chagrin Boulevard when a man was leaving an ATM. Police say he was robbed of his cash and his silver Range Rover by two suspects in their late teens or early twenties, one of whom was armed.
That vehicle was recovered Tuesday morning in Cleveland and is being checked for evidence by police.
