San Francisco police on Wednesday said they have arrested three men suspected of robbing several stores in the outer Richmond District.

The break in the case came when an employee of a jewelry store that was the latest victim of the robbers followed them out of the store and through neighborhood streets.

On Friday, Aug. 24, two men entered a jewelry store on the 5800 block of Geary Boulevard. One of them wore a ski mask and both were armed with pistols. They ordered an employee to lie on the floor, then smashed a display case with a hammer and took some jewelry.

The noise of the robbery brought another employee out from the back of the store, and the suspects ran away. The second employee followed them to 23rd Avenue, when one of the suspects pointed a gun at him. One suspect got into a gray Volkswagen and both men headed to 23rd and Clement Street, according to police.

Police later found the Volkswagen in the 100 block of 22nd Avenue. Visible inside were a hammer and a ski mask, police said.

Officers found one suspect at Geary and Webster Street, and two others at a house in the 400 block of 28th Avenue. The men were arrested on suspicion of robbery, burglary and conspiracy.

In addition to the Geary Boulevard robbery, the three are suspected of several other robberies, including one Aug. 18 in the 4400 block of Cabrillo Street, one Aug. 20 in the 2100 block of Clement Street and one Aug. 24 in the 3900 block of Balboa Street.

Police are withholding the identities and photos of the suspects, one 50 years old, one 48 and another 43, “pending identification matters.”