San Francisco police announced the arrest of two individuals, both men in their 30s, for a series of armed robberies in recent weeks that targeted businesses in the Mission District.

The robberies began on September 26 and continued through last week, when the SFPD arrested the two suspects, 32-year-old Jacquez Tucker and 33-year-old Lloyd Gage. Both were taken into custody without incident on October 4, according to a department release.

Tucker and Gage are believed to be the same two individuals who robbed three different Mission District businesses in the early morning hours between September 26 and October 4.

"The robberies all involved the taking over of businesses and forcing victims onto the floor or corralling them into back rooms, all at gunpoint," the SFPD says. "In two of the robberies, the suspects pistol-whipped the victims. In each robbery, the suspects stole [cash] and merchandise, and in two of the incidents, the suspects also stole the businesses’ ATMs."

The SFPD Tenderloin Plain Clothes Team, the Mission Plain Clothes Team, the Community Violence Reduction Team, the Robbery Unit, SFPD Night Investigations Unit, and SFPD Specialists all collaborated on an operation to arrest the pair on October 4, first spotting Tucker driving the suspect vehicle around the city.

Tucker was seen picking up a second male, identified as Gage, and the two were arrested in the area of Silver Avenue and San Bruno Avenue. A search warrant was subsequently served at Tucker's residence which allegedly uncovered clothing and shoes worn by Tucker during the robberies, as well as two pistols, and merchandise stolen during the robberies.

Additionally, Gage was arrested while in possession of the same distinct short-barreled rifle allegedly used in the robberies.

Both men were booked on seven counts of robbery, four counts of kidnapping, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, three counts of use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, three counts of use of a firearm during a felony, three counts of criminal conspiracy, and three counts of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.  

Photo of the seized weapons via SFPD