Trio held in string of robberies

Three men charged with a string of Suffolk County convenience store robberies were arrested following a traffic stop near another potential target, police said Saturday.

An officer stopped their car near a 7-Eleven in Sayville -- 47 minutes after an East Islip store was robbed.

The men have been linked so far to three robberies and an attempted holdup, all committed in the past 10 days, police said.

"We were aware that several 7-Elevens had been targeted," said Det. Sgt. Jeffrey Walker of the Third Precinct. "We believed that there was a pattern . . . "

At 1:55 a.m. Friday, a 7-Eleven at 197 Montauk Hwy. in East Islip was robbed.

After hearing a police broadcast with the suspects' descriptions, a Fifth Precinct sergeant went to the 7-Eleven at 5640 Sunrise Hwy. in Sayville to warn employees.

Patrol Sgt. Eric Bokina left the store and saw a suspicious vehicle with a broken taillight. He pulled over the car about 2:42 a.m. and learned it was stolen, police said.

Arrested were Jeffrey Francis, 21, of Medford, and Reggie Lewis, 20, and Travis Towler, 23, both of Brooklyn.

Investigators later obtained statements linking them to the robberies, police said. "One thing led to another," Walker said.

All three were charged with first-degree robbery. Francis was also charged with criminal possession of a weapon after police recovered a loaded handgun.The men are accused of the robbery on Montauk Highway, and the holdup of a Getty Gas Station on the North Sunrise Service Road in Bay Shore on Sept. 7.

Francis and Towler were also charged with a 7-Eleven robbery on Jericho Turnpike in Commack, and the attempted robbery of the Metro Market on Fort Salonga Road in East Northport, both on Sept. 10, police said.

The men were arraigned Saturday in First District Court in Central Islip and were being held after failing to post bond.

Suffolk police said they are investigating whether they are linked to about a dozen recent convenience store robberies.