Suspects Arrested in Robbery Spree

Police arrested five gang members who conducted a five-month robbery spree in southeast Queens targeting bodega owners, police officials said.

The suspects, who investigators believe are affiliated with a street gang, the Crips, were charged yesterday with holding up 22 bodegas between March and August in the Queens Village, Jamaica, and the South Jamaica sections of Queens, police said.

Investigators are also investigating other robberies and violent crimes the suspects may have committed, Inspector James Shea of the police department's citywide robbery squad said.

During the spree, the five suspects, who were armed and wore masks, robbed the bodegas of cash amounts that ranged between hundreds and thousands of dollars, and in one case shot a victim's leg, Mr. Shea said.

Two of the suspects were caught Monday after the gang robbed three bodegas the previous evening, Mr. Shea said. The arrests were made after a detailed description of the suspects' vehicle was ascertained from a victim, Mr. Shea said. The arrested suspects led police to the three members of the crew who were still at large, he said.