3 men charged with robbing Burger King

Police believe three men charged with robbing a Glen Burnie fast-food restaurant and forcing its manager and employees into a walk-in freezer yesterday may be responsible for at least a dozen similar robberies in the Baltimore area.

Anne Arundel County police made the arrests after an armed robbery at a Burger King restaurant in the 7300 block of Ritchie Highway last night at 10 o'clock.

Officers were keeping the restaurant under surveillance when they saw the suspects -- who had been eating -- suddenly vault the service counter. The officers confronted the suspects at a side door and confiscated a semiautomatic handgun from one of them and a pillowcase containing an undisclosed amount of money.

"They would wait until there were no customers there before they would hit," police spokeswoman Terry Robey said. She said no injuries were reported in the robberies.

Arrested were Jerome Bennett Fickling, 18, of the 3700 block of Reisterstown Road; Carlos Walter Evans, 22, of the 4800 block of Kimberleigh Road; and Thomas Reid Ryce, 22, of the 4700 block of Old Court Road.

Each was charged with one count of armed robbery.

Detectives believe the suspects have been involved in similar robberies in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties during the past month.