4 From Navy Arrested in Series of Brutal Midway-Area Holdups

Four Navy men have been arrested in connection with a spate of robberies and beatings in the Midway district that police are now comparing to an earlier wave of attacks in Hillcrest and North Park, officials said Friday.

Two of the arrests were made Wednesday after a police stakeout in response to the attacks last weekend, San Diego police Sgt. Dennis Love said.

“The suspects involved were contacting their victims on the street and subsequently robbing them in a brutal fashion. They would beat them first, and then rob them,” Love said.

Police are also investigating whether the four men arrested over the past week are connected with attacks that took place over the last several months in Hillcrest and North Park, Love said.

“We are looking at those individuals to see if they in fact were involved in the Hillcrest and North Park cases. In those cases where we think they may be involved, we will show lineups to former victims and witnesses,” Love said.

Daryl E. Erwin, 21, and Travis M. Walker, 20, were arrested Wednesday night after police, on a stakeout, chased and captured them after they allegedly attacked two men in the 3000 block of Rosecrans Street, near a Bookstar bookstore, Love said.

Erwin and Walker were each booked on suspicion of five counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery. Each man’s bond was set at $75,000, jail officials said.

On Thursday, police arrested Dwight Joseph, 21, and Darren Dwayne Shelton, 25, at a hotel in the 500 block of Roosevelt Avenue in National City, Love said. Joseph’s car was identified by detectives as the one used by Erwin and Walker in Wednesday’s attack, Love said. It also contained evidence from an earlier attack, Love said.

Joseph and Shelton are each being held on suspicion of four counts of robbery. Each man’s bond was set for $60,000, jail officials said.

All four men are assigned to the submarine tender Dixon, which is usually docked at the Point Loma Submarine Base at Ballast Point.

In one incident in the Midway district, two of the suspects allegedly withdrew $240 with a robbery victim’s ATM card, Love said. Police have asked Bank of America officials to provide photographs taken by the automatic teller camera to determine any connection with the suspects.

Police are continuing their investigation, but there have been no robberies in the Midway district since Wednesday’s arrests, Love said.