CLEVELAND — Cleveland Police said three teenagers were taken into custody after a string of armed robberies Sunday night into Monday that crisscrossed the city.
Police said that just after 3 a.m. on Monday, they started chasing a Mercedes near downtown they say was stolen on the west side and used in a carjacking on the east side.
After about a two-hour manhunt, they were able to take a 13-year-old, a 14-year-old and an 18-year-old into custody, police said.
"These individuals were terrorizing both sides of the town — east and west side," said Cleveland Police Sgt. Freddy Diaz.
It was initially reported to News 5 on Monday morning that four individuals were arrested, but a police spokesperson later confirmed to News 5 that only three people, all teenagers, were arrested.
Diaz said they got several calls from victims and witnesses, “saying, 'Hey my car was taken,' or 'Hey this is the description that I saw,'" Sgt. Diaz said.
Diaz said cars were either stolen or carjacked at gunpoint from locations on W. 50th, W. 54th and W. 135th and Chamberlain.
Police confirmed the red Mercedes was spotted at a hotel on Carnegie Avenue downtown.
"As you can probably imagine, a very fluid situation where a lot of moving parts are occurring, so we’re grateful that the officers were able to communicate, which is key," Diaz said.
Ian Sparkman said his wake-up call came from the front desk about his 2018 Kia parked in the back lot.
“The steering column had been removed and the right rear windshield was shattered," Sparkman said.
Sparkman was in town celebrating his girlfriend's birthday at a Cavs game.
“We just wanted to enjoy the night and it’s, I don’t know, it’s unfortunate," Sparkman said.
The parking lot turned into a crime scene.
“They immediately knew this potentially could be the suspects involved in the earlier crimes," Diaz said.
The couple left without his car of just four months to get a rental for the ride back home.
“The officer told me that I shouldn’t drive it and then they proceeded to tow it and take it into evidence," Sparkman said.
