Police Busy With Sudden Spike In Tulsa Armed Robberies

Detectives in Tulsa are busy investigating several armed robberies that happened over the weekend. Police say the spike in crime may be attributable to the spike in temperature.

"We were kind of thinking, 'Wow, we must have the right people in jail,' but you expect these kind of explosions. As the weather gets hotter, crime goes up," said Sgt. Brandon Watkins.

Saturday morning, a woman was kidnapped from her home by three men.

She was asked to get money from an ATM at the Kum & Go convenience store on North Harvard. That's where the men got away, when the woman alerted a security guard.

7/20/2013 Related Story: Tulsa Woman Taken Hostage, Forced To Drive To ATM, Police Say

But that was just the first of five robberies over the weekend.

That same morning, Tom Bush said he was attacked by a man with a two-by-four piece of lumber.

"When I wouldn't pass out after being hit five times with a two-by-four, he showed me his gun and said 'Pass out, go down,' and that was it," Bush said.

The man pummeled Bush and got away with his van with a ladder rack on it.

"I thought I was going to die, I thought, 'This is my day,'" Bush said.

7/20/2013 Related Story:Tulsa Man Reportedly Beaten Unconscious With Lumber Thought He'd Die

Then the Chuck E. Cheese Pizza on 71st Street was robbed when the store was closing Saturday night. The suspects ordered employees into a back room. The robbers took money and the employees' cell phones.

"They're more professional. It's something that quite a bit of planning went into, or some thought went into by the suspect, and so it's a little bit more violent, a little bit more nerve-wracking for us as investigators. Because these are the types you want to get in as quick as you possibly can, because you know they're going to hit again and again," Watkins said.

7/21/2013 Related Story: Tulsa Chuck E. Cheese Employees Robbed At Gunpoint

Sunday morning, two armed robbery suspects broke into the Grimes family home.

"My mom was sitting on the bed holding a pillow against her, frightened to death, because she has a gun pointed at her," said James Grimes.

They say the suspects forced the 17-year-old to load the family's TVs into their own car, and took off.

7/21/2013 Related Story: Apparent Home Invasion Has Tulsa Police Seeking Two Men

And Monday, police officers shot a 17-year-old armed robbery suspect after a five-hour standoff. Another was arrested.

Police say the two robbed the clerk at the U-Stop Convenience store on Mohawk Boulevard, before running to a nearby apartment.

7/22/2013 Related Story: Teenager Shot By Tulsa Police In Standoff After Armed Robbery

Investigators say the sudden spike in crime is not necessarily indicative of a long term trend.

"I don't know about all year, but it's definitely the most active weekend we've had in some time," Watkins said.

Police say anyone with information related to these crimes is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS.