Robbers Steal Can of Altoids at Gunpoint

Robbers who held up a man and woman at gunpoint near Davis Square stole cell phones, money … and a box of Altoids.

That's according to the victims' accounts in a police report.

The robbery was one of three that took place over the course of a week near Davis Square. The series of robberies prompted police to issue a neighborhood safety alert.

According to the police report, a man and woman were in their car on Cottage Avenue at around 1:15 a.m. on July 18 when three men walked past the car.

As the victims were getting out of their car, one of the suspects approached the passenger side and asked the victims if they had cigarettes, according to the victims' account. The suspect then brandished a firearm and said, "Give me your money," according to the victims.

The suspect reached into the vehicle, took money, a cell phone and a box of Altoids, the report says.

Meanwhile, the two other suspects approached the drivers' side of the car with what the victim sitting there thought was a firearm, according to the report. They took more money and that victim's cell phone, it says.

The suspects then fled down Chester Street toward Cambridge, according to the report.

The father of one of the victims went looking for the suspects and found three young men who matched their description sitting in a car at 7-Eleven on Massachusetts Avenue, the report says.

The father took down the license plate, and police responded to the 7-Eleven, finding the suspects still there, according to the report.

The victims positively identified the suspects, and police found inside their car a firearm and a cell phone that matched the description of the stolen one, the report says.

Police also found a box of Altoids, which they booked into evidence.

Jonathan Franklin, 20, Bradley Sylvestre, 19, and Jean Sainttrile, 18, were arrested and charged with armed robbery.

Please remember that allegations contained in police reports do not indicate a conviction.