Police early Monday arrested two men suspected of robbing a female pedestrian near Beatties Ford Road in west Charlotte.

The woman flagged down a police officer and said she was robbed at gunpoint by two black males while walking to a friend’s home at 1:30 a.m. She said the robbers took a pocketbook and cell phone.

While officers were looking for the suspects, they came across an unoccupied vehicle parked on Hildebrand Street with its motor still running. A pocketbook and gun were in plain sight, according to police.

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Duo charged in cell phone, tanning salon robberies

Kristie Welch                               Bryan Gale

Police say A woman arrested Sunday night in connection with cell phone store robberies also was involved in several robberies of Charlotte tanning salons.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say they are charging Kristie Welch, 34, with eight robberies -- seven of them involving cell phone stores -- and say she will be charged as a conspirator in the tanning salon cases.

Meanwhile, police say, Bryan Gale, 38, is being charged with the four other robberies, three of which happened at tanning salons.

Gale already was in jail, arrested June 18 on unrelated larceny charges.

The arrests apparently have solved some of Charlotte's most highly publicized robberies in recent weeks.

The tanning salon robber had struck businesses in Dilworth and southeast Charlotte, often committing the crime during daylight hours in high-traffic areas. The cell phone store robberies happened across Charlotte, although the most recent case took place Sunday in Monroe.

Read more at CharlotteObserver.com.

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Man, 18, charged in fatal hit and run

The two suspects -- Derrick Hamilton, 23, and Joshua Oliphant, 27 -- were arrested a few blocks away. Police said the victim identified the men as her assailants.

Police charged an 18-year-old man with felony hit and run in relation to a pedestrian fatality in south Charlotte.

The incident happened at about 11:33 p.m. Sunday in the 9700 block of Rea Road.

According to police, 20-year-old Vincent Wong was attempting to cross the street when he was struck and killed by car that did not stop. The suspect, Sami Nafisi, turned himself in at CMPD headquarters at 2:40 p.m.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information is asked to call 704-336-8862, or call Crime Stoppers at 704-344-1600.

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