Anchorage police arrested and charged four men Saturday after back-to-back armed robberies at a hotel and gas station.
The first robbery was at the Hampton Inn, 4301 Credit Union Drive, around 1:15 a.m. Saturday, said police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro. It was reported that three men entered the hotel armed with a shotgun and two handguns. They were given money from the front counter and fled in a sedan driven by a fourth male.
At 2:07 a.m. another robbery was reported about four miles away, at a Chevron station at 2200 W. Dimond Blvd., Castro said. Police said three men entered the convenience store and forced an employee to the ground. One man fired multiple rounds from a shotgun at an ATM trying to open it but was unsuccessful, Castro said. The men left with money and cigarettes in the same vehicle driven by the same man from the previous robbery, according to police.
Police were investigating a separate incident around 2:30 a.m. at Motel 6, 5000 A St., when they found four men at the hotel who matched the descriptions of the suspects from the two robberies.
Police interviewed and arrested Miracle Tulimasealii, 23, Tusa Tanuvasa, 18, Siaosi Sila, 20 and Lonnie Reed, Jr., 22. The men were each charged with two counts of first-degree robbery and transported to Anchorage Jail.
Sila made headlines in May after running from police and onto the ice covering Cheney Lake. Then, Sila was violating his probation for a 2011 felony burglary conviction.
Reach Tegan Hanlon at thanlon@adn.com or 257-4589.
By TEGAN HANLON