Two suspects in an armed robbery and car chase early Wednesday morning may be linked to two armed robberies at gas stations earlier this week.
The suspects, Antonio Johnson, 27, and Brandon ‘Brandy' Rucker, 26, were arrested and taken to jail after allegedly leading police on a car and foot chase in the UW-Madison campus area.
Around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, an armed robbery occurred at the PDQ convenience store on Fish Hatchery Road. The two suspects demanded the store clerk's car keys and drove the car down South Park Street.
An officer saw the stolen vehicle and attempted to pull it over, but a pursuit ensued when the suspects increased their speed.
""The suspects then failed to slow down or stop at a construction site and proceeded northbound across Dayton Street,"" said Joel DeSpain, public information officer for the Madison Police Department. ""They then crashed into a construction chain-link fence, causing the vehicle to stop.""
A UWPD officer at the intersection of the crash saw both the driver and front-seat passenger get out of the car and start running. The officer chased one of the suspects down while an MPD sergeant chased down the other, leading to their arrests.
DeSpain said the two suspects may be linked to two gas station robberies on Monday based on similar descriptions of the incidents.
""It's possible these suspects are linked to these other robberies because of the type of crime, the way it was perpetrated, the general description of the perpetrators and the relative time frame,"" DeSpain said. ""They could be linked, but we don't know yet.""
