Robbers punched and kicked a 77-year-old man before driving away in his vehicle in St. Paul last week. It was one of a series of robberies and assaults last week against men, mostly near their homes.

Early Sunday, when a state trooper tried to pull over a vehicle, it turned out to be the man’s stolen SUV. Authorities detained three juveniles after a pursuit.

St. Paul investigators now are working to confirm whether the five robberies and assaults are connected.

“Obviously, there are some extreme similarities between the cases, but investigators still need to do the fact checking to be sure they’re related,” said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman.

A group of young men who appeared to be in their teens or early 20s attacked the men in each of the cases. The men didn’t require hospitalization, police said.

The assaults happened in the Como, Cathedral Hill, Summit Hill and Frogtown neighborhoods of St. Paul.

“It’s hard to believe it happened in our neighborhood because it’s a safe place,” said a 56-year-old man who was assaulted near his garage on Parkview Avenue, about a block from Lake Como. He’s lived in the area for 20 years.

On Wednesday at about 4:45 p.m., the man arrived home from work and parked his sport-utility vehicle. A young man approached and asked to use his phone, but he told him he didn’t have one.

“He said, ‘You’re a liar,’ ” said the man, who asked not to be named.

The suspect then punched him and struck him with a crow bar — both blows were to his face, leaving him with his eye swollen shut and blood dripping down his face. The robber snapped away the man’s keys, pushed him out of the driver’s seat and stole the vehicle.

Then, on Thursday there were four other cases:

At about 4 p.m., the 77-year-old man drove into his garage on Holly Avenue, near Arundel Street. After he exited his Subaru Forester, a group of males assaulted him and knocked him to the ground, Ernster said. They got his keys and drove away in his vehicle, while some of the males left in the SUV they had arrived in.

At 7:41 p.m., police were sent to Avon Street and Summit Avenue, where a 49-year-old said two SUVs pulled up and five to six males ran out and assaulted him without saying anything. He thought he was punched more than 10 times and kicked a few times. They left in the SUVs.

At 7:53 p.m., officers responded to Bay Street, near Jefferson Avenue, after a 57-year-old man reported pulling into his driveway and about eight juveniles quickly approaching. They asked for his phone and he said he didn’t one. He was punched in the back of his head, while other males hit him and he fell to the ground, Ernster said. They stole his cell phone and wallet and ran to a SUV parked around the corner.

At 8:34 p.m., officers were called to Sherburne Avenue, near Victoria Street, where a 37-year-old man reported he arrived home and saw two vehicles parked in his alley. People in the alley asked him, “What are you looking at?” and he didn’t respond, but they started running toward him, Ernster said. He tried to get into his yard and shut his gate, but one of the males punched him in the face. He picked up a rake to defend himself, and seven to eight males left in a Forester and another SUV.

An officer spotted an SUV traveling about 50 mph in the area, and the vehicle suddenly stopped. Two males ran away from the vehicle to the north and two ran to the south.

The vehicle was still rolling down the street, and the officer ran up and got inside to stop it, Ernster said. It was the SUV stolen the day before and evidence from one of the Thursday robberies was inside, according to police.

Police detained a 15-year-old in the area, but officers were not able to confirm whether he was involved and he was released to his grandmother, Ernster said.

Then, on Sunday at 1:15 a.m., a Minnesota State Patrol trooper attempted to stop a vehicle for speeding on Interstate 694 and Shingle Creek Parkway. It was the Subaru Forester stolen in St. Paul.

The vehicle exited to Hennepin County 81 and continued to speed away after from the trooper, said Lt. Gordon Shank, State Patrol public information officer. The driver continued onto the streets of Brooklyn Park and the trooper stopped the pursuit soon after.

The trooper found the vehicle crashed in the ditch of West Broadway and 62nd avenues, and the people inside ran away, Shank said.

Law enforcement set up a perimeter and a trooper found two juveniles nearby and a Brooklyn Park officer located a third juvenile. The State Patrol determined they were connected to the fleeing vehicle, Shank said.

The juveniles were detained and later released to adult guardians. The State Patrol said their investigation is ongoing.

St. Paul police took the vehicle to be processed for evidence in the robberies, Ernster said.