The man believed to have committed three armed robberies in Ypsilanti since Sept. 18 was arrested Sunday in Ann Arbor, about a week after police named him as a suspect.

Detective Sgt. Tom Eberts said Monday Duane Lee, 25 of Flint, was arrested by Ann Arbor police officers. He was still being held by Ann Arbor police Monday, and Eberts had not had a chance to question him as of 1 p.m.

Eberts said Lee was recognized by a citizen in Ann Arbor, and that person called police.

Police had said they believed Lee was in the Ann Arbor area, where he had been arrested in August on a warrant out of Flint. Lee was a suspect in an armed robbery case there, but those charges were eventually dismissed.

The ex-con and gang member — also known as Gangster Disciples 74, according to state records — served eight years in prison before being released in February. He was a member of the Gangster Disciples gang while in the Saginaw Correctional Facility and was the victim of a gang-related stabbing while in prison.

No one was injured in the Ypsilanti robberies, but the cases led police to call Lee “armed and dangerous.”

The first robbery was reported about 11 p.m. on Sept. 18. A 40-year-old woman told police she was walking in the 200 block of North Washington Street when a man approached her and pointed a black semi-automatic handgun at her and demanded her purse.

Duane Lee (Courtesy of YPD)

A 22-year-old woman living nearby heard the woman scream and looked out the window, only to see the man pointing the gun at her, police said. He wrestled away the 40-year-old woman’s purse and ran from the scene.

The next robbery was reported at 11:29 p.m. Sept. 22. Eberts said the victim was walking toward a store near campus when he passed by a group of men.

One of the men approached the victim and asked for a lighter. When the victim went to get the lighter out of his pocket, the man grabbed the victim’s arm and pulled out a black semi-automatic handgun, Eberts said

He pointed the gun at the victim and told him to hand over his wallet. When the victim refused, the man tried to punch him, but the victim broke free and backed away.

The victim reached into his pocket to grab something, and the man with the gun ran away from the scene with a second man, Eberts said. The victim was just a block or so away from the police department and walked in to report the incident.

The third robbery occurred about about 10:45 a.m. Sept. 23. A man who is an Eastern Michigan University employee was walking in the area of Summit and Sheridan streets when he was passed by a man from behind. After the suspect passed the man, he turned around and pulled out a gun

The victim handed over his cellphone and his money and reported being able to see most of the gun and part of the barrel.

Eberts said last week a two-count warrant was approved for Lee by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office, and he expected to receive a warrant for the third case as well. Lee was identified as the prime suspect on Sept. 23.

Anyone with information on these incidents is encouraged to call the Ypsilanti police at 734-483-9510 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK UP (773-2587).

Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for The Ann Arbor News. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@mlive.com or you can follow him on Twitter.