4 teens jailed in Charlotte carjacking and robbery spree

Four teenagers were arrested in a string of armed robberies and carjackings that occurred Tuesday through Friday in east and southwest Charlotte.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police on Saturday announced the arrests of Kevin Irigoyen, 18, Luis Rivera, 17, and 16-year-olds Douglas Ramirez and Steven Batista on various counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and robbery with a dangerous weapon. Batista also was charged with vehicle larceny and possession of a stolen vehicle.

The crime spree began Tuesday in the 6600 block of Yateswood Drive, south of Albemarle Road, when a man leaving for work was robbed at gunpoint of his wallet and vehicle, police said.

Four incidents followed on Thursday, including one where a man was shot at when he tried to run from robbers outside his apartment in the 6600 block of Dupont Drive, off South Boulevard. The victim was not hurt, but his vehicle was stolen, police said. Two other cars were stolen that day, and a man was robbed at gunpoint as he walked in the 6800 block of Saddle Point Road in east Charlotte.

Three more victims reported being carjacked on Friday, on El Verano Circle and Old Pineville Road in Steele Creek and Kimmerly Woods Drive near East W.T. Harris Boulevard. In a fourth incident that day, a man sitting in his car on Cherrycrest Lane in Steele Creek was robbed of his wallet and phone.

In a fifth case on Friday, an armed robber ordered a woman from her car on Dupont Drive and tried to drive it away, but a broken gear shift prevented the car from moving and the robber left, police said.

Pineville police on Friday found Irigoyen in one of the stolen vehicles. CMPD officers found Rivera in Huntersville and took him to police headquarters, too. Ramirez voluntarily went to police headquarters, where he was interviewed and arrested.

Also Friday, police near Harrisburg Road and Pence Road spotted a vehicle stolen from Farm Pond Lane in east Charlotte and took the driver, later identified as Batista, into custody.

Anyone with information about the cases or suspects is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 704.334.1600.

This story was originally published December 31, 2016 at 6:40 PM with the headline "4 teens jailed in Charlotte carjacking and robbery spree."