Four teenagers were taken into custody late this afternoon by Sheriff’s Office SWAT Deputies following an alleged crime spree that began this morning at a Germantown shopping center.

About ten o’clock, a man was attacked in the parking lot of the Germantown Village Square Shopping Center on Poplar near Germantown Road.

The man told Germantown Police Officers he had just gotten out of his car when three young men knocked him to the ground and kicked him. One held a gun to his head.

However, the men did not take anything from the man and quickly got back into the Mustang and left going west on Poplar Avenue.

Moments later, a teacher was walking on a parking lot sidewalk behind the school when a 2000 model Ford Mustang pulled up beside her. A man with a pistol got out of the car and demanded her purse.

She handed the robber her purse. The man then got back into the Mustang with two other passengers and sped away. The teacher was not hurt.

Not long after that, the Mustang was connected to another attempted robbery in the parking lot at Hickory Ridge Mall. No one was hurt in that incident which is still under investigation by Memphis Police.

Then, about 12:30 this afternoon, a man was attacked in the parking of Oak Court Mall by three men who were also thought to be driving the same blue Mustang. The robbers took the man’s wallet. He was not hurt.

About an hour after the robbery at Oak Court Mall, Sheriff’s Office SWAT Deputies were conducting a “Zero Tolerance” crime initiative in the neighborhood near Summer Avenue and Holmes.

SWAT Sergeant Vernon Dollahite, Jr., saw the Mustang going south on Holmes Road which matched the description of the one used in the four crimes.

Sergeant Dollahite and his fellow SWAT Deputies surrounded the vehicle on Holmes Road just north of Walnut Grove and took four young men into custody. Two of the teenagers were 18 years-old, one 17 years old and one 16 years-old.

The Germantown Police Department and the Memphis Police Department are the primary agencies investigating the robberies and attempted robberies. Investigators with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office are assisting.