An investigation by the Milwaukee Police Department has led to the arrests of five individuals in connection with a string of robberies on Milwaukee’s North and Northwest sides.

Police arrested the suspects in connection to the Jan. 28 armed robbery of a Cousins Subs restaurant on East Capitol Drive in Milwaukee. However, police believe the group is responsible for 14 other robberies in the area.

The robberies occurred during both daytime and evening hours. The losses ranged from $100 to $2,000, according to the official criminal complaint.

Maurice Collins, Jermaine Heard, Gregory King, Quenton King and Demetrius Richardson are each facing an armed robbery charge in connection with the Cousins Subs incident. The district attorney is expected to issue additional charges for the other robberies after further police investigation.

If the men are convicted, each could face a maximum of 40 years in prison.

An anonymous tipster gave MPD officers their biggest break in the investigation. The caller gave officers detailed information about the robberies, including the robbers’ names, addresses, the vehicles used by the robbers and descriptions of their weapons and clothing.

In the criminal complaint, officials said Gregory King admitted to nine of the robberies. Heard and Richardson each admitted to four. Both King and Richardson admitted to the Cousins robbery and said the three other suspects took part in the heist as well.

All 14 robberies were of a forceful nature. Released surveillance camera footage showed suspects entering businesses with their pump sawed-off shotguns drawn and hoods up, concealing their faces from the camera.

The subsequent effects of these robberies on the surrounding neighborhoods have posed a problem for police and businesses alike.

“These are people who basically terrorized the business on the northwest side. It’s been a major crime problem for us,” said Milwaukee Police Chief Edward A. Flynn.

Flynn added that the arrests were not the only success of the investigation.

“Through a series of surveillances we were able to not only apprehend six individuals, but we’ve also recovered the firearms,” Flynn said.

The three firearms MPD confiscated include two shotguns and one rifle. MPD believes the weapons were used in the robberies, which occurred between Jan. 25 and Feb. 17.

A sixth suspect is in custody and is expected to be charged in the next few days. Specific details concerning the suspect’s involvement are unknown at this time.

The robbers allegedly hit stores ranging from small, independently-owned businesses to larger retailers.

A Wal-Mart store was one of the businesses allegedly hit. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Anna Taylor declined comment on how much was taken from the store. However, she said the retailer is extremely appreciative of the hard work of the police in arresting the suspects.

After receiving an anonymous tip, MPD’s investigation took officers to the streets of the affected neighborhoods — setting up a command post near the intersection of North 76th Street and West Capitol Drive. The post was used for a surveillance operation.

According to MPD public information officer Sgt. Mark Stanmeyer, this mobile command post acts as a location for an incident commander to coordinate field operations for officers in the area.

Stanmeyer said locations for such command posts are decided upon after the incident commander on the scene evaluates a variety of tactical and logistical considerations.