WILKES-BARRE, Pa. -- Police in Wilkes-Barre have a man in custody they believe is responsible for two armed robberies in the city Monday morning.
Just after 8 a.m., police were called to Madison Street for a report of a man who struck a woman with a gun.
Police say as a woman was putting her 5-year-old daughter into her car, to go to school when a man with a gun asked for her purse.
"I came outside to find our neighbor here on the ground really shaken up, and she said that she had just been held up with a gun," said Audrey Urban, neighbor.
Audrey Urban says it all took place outside her home. She says it was easy for police to identify the robber because in the struggle he left his wallet behind.
"We were able to identify him real easily because a car had come around the corner and seen her being held up with the gun and stopped and he took off, but since he dropped his wallet we were able to say, 'hey is this the guy?' and it was him," said Urban.
The alleged robber is Francisco Hernandez.
Police say about two hours later Hernandez held up a man at gunpoint for money outside the Anthracite Newsstand, right on Public Square during the busy workday downtown.
"That's crazy. I was hearing people talk about it as I was handling business today, but I didn't know it was right there that close," said Kiyonah Randolph, Wilkes-Barre.
Police say they were able to identify Hernandez with his wallet and surveillance footage from nearby businesses.
"Oh well clever guy, huh? Not that clever, but it's good that he got caught though," said Randolph.
Police took Hernandez into custody after a brief chase on Northampton Street close to two hours after the first alleged robbery.