REDWOOD CITY — In just over two hours a pair of Redwood City men held up three stores with a stolen air rifle early Tuesday, but were arrested within minutes of the last crime, police said Wednesday.

The “mini crime spree” came to an end around 6:30 a.m. in the 400 block of Lincoln Avenue when Redwood City police Sgt. Gil Gomez spotted the suspects, Deputy Chief Gary Kirby said.

Miguel Alvarado, 18, and Osvaido Lopez, 21, were arrested on suspicion of robbery and allegations they are gang members.

The crime spree started ﻿May 23 when the men allegedly stole two air rifles, some electronics and other items from a home in the 500 block of Katherine Avenue in Redwood City. With the stolen pellet guns, police say the pair started robbing stores Tuesday. They took about $1,400 during the holdups, Kirby said.

In each case a man police believe was Lopez, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and mask, ran into the stores with an air gun and demanded cash from the clerk. He then grabbed the money and got into a waiting white Ford Mustang allegedly driven by Alvarado, Kirby said.

Gomez, the police sergeant, spotted the Mustang parked in the 500 block of Lincoln Avenue with its headlights still on and then saw the suspects walking in a nearby driveway. He called for other officers who arrested the men and found “wads of cash” in the bushes near where they had been standing, Kirby said.

The crimes happened at 3:50 a.m. in a 7-Eleven store at 460 Woodside Road; 4:29 a.m. in a Food Stop store at 916 Whipple Ave. and 6:10 a.m. in a 7-Eleven store at 1700 Broadway.

Anyone with information about possible other crimes involving the suspects can call Redwood City police at 650-780-7681.

Contact Joshua Melvin at 650-348-4335. Follow him at Twitter.com/melvinreport.