Armed robbers using dating apps to find potential victims were recently identified by undercover Metro Police officers, leading to three arrests.

Marcus K. Brown, 20, Ronald Malone Jr., 18, and Javon Fields, 19, have all been charged in connection with multiple robberies in the Hillside Avenue area beginning in November.

MNPD's newly-minted LGBTQ liaison Officer Catie Poole assisted in the investigation.

Several men were lured to the locations of the hold-ups thinking they were heading to a date after connecting with the suspects via a dating app — and it was the app that ended up leading to arrests.

At least five men were robbed at gunpoint this way, according to an MNPD release after the arrests.

Malone and Fields were charged after Midtown Hills detectives went undercover on the app while trying to prevent further robberies.

The pair believed they had "lured another victim to the area, but instead had actually been communicating" with the detectives, the MNPD release said.

Malone was indicted on charges connected to three separate robberies, on Dec. 1, 5 and 6, in which male victims drove to Hillside Avenue after arranging to meet through an app.

The men were robbed at gunpoint.

Fields was charged on Dec. 18 with the Dec. 2 hold-up under similar circumstances.

Brown was arrested in connection to to the Jan. 26 hold-up of a man in a parking lot. That man, police say, also expected to meet a date.

It was not immediately clear which app was used to find victims.

Both Brown and Fields were identified by victims in photographic lineups, according to arrest affidavits. Social media search warrants showed Brown had been in contact with the other two defendants and repeatedly referencing robberies, the affidavits and MNPD said.

The charges

All three men remain in custody.

Brown was arrested Monday while out on bail for a previous charge. He remained in custody Tuesday evening in lieu of a $25,000 bond.

He had previously been released on a $21,000 bond after his arrest on charges connected to the June 2017 robbery of Resha’s Bi-Rite market on 25th Avenue North. Police have said he was the getaway driver.

Malone was arrested Friday. He remained in custody Tuesday evening in lieu of a $75,000 bond.

Fields remained in custody on a previous Dec. 11 arrest on charges related to conspiracy to sell counterfeit marijuana.

Reach reporter Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms.