LEWISTON — Three local men, including a former high school track star, were arrested Wednesday following an armed robbery at a Pierce Street apartment.

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Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Lewiston police officer Robert Dionne leads Derrick McDuffy from an apartment on Walnut Street in Lewiston on Wednesday morning. McDuffy allegedly was involved in an armed robbery on Pierce Street.

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Christopher Williams/Sun Journal

Lewiston police prepare to enter 21 Walnut St. in response to a report of a man with a sawed-off shotgun at that address.

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Ricardo Hairston

Derrick McDuffy

Keven Stichel

Kevin Stichel, 22, of Bartlett Street; Ricardo Hairston, 19, of Lisbon Street; and Derrick McDuffy, 21, of Bartlett Street were charged with robbery, according to police Lt. Mark Cornelio.

The victim, Scott Breton, said the suspects were after his marijuana, which he uses legally for health problems. One of the suspects, Breton said, put the shotgun against his face and threatened to shoot him.

"He came in and said, 'Where's your medicine? Where's your marijuana?'" a tearful Breton told WGME. "He said like 10 times he was going to shoot me in the face."

Breton was home with his wife, Wanda, when the intruders, one armed with a double-barreled shotgun, another with a handgun, kicked in his door at about 9 a.m.

Breton said the men seemed to know he had a supply of marijuana in the apartment.

Police said the suspects also took an iPod, a cell phone and a laptop computer.

Wanda Breton was able to call police from her cell phone and minutes later, several officers and detectives were at the scene, joined by agents from the Central Maine Violent Crimes Task Force.

Scott Breton told police he did not recognize the suspects, but he was able to describe them. A short time later, police tracked the three men to an apartment house just around the corner at 21 Walnut St., Cornelio said.

Roughly a dozen police and special agents surrounded the building, many with weapons drawn. When they entered the building, police said they found the two guns and some of the stolen property stuffed into a dryer. They found the suspects hiding in another apartment on the third floor, investigators said.

Hairston, an Edward Little High School track star who graduated last year, was being held on $15,000 cash bail, as were the other suspects. McDuffy and Stichel each was charged additionally with violating bail conditions.

It was not immediately clear whether police recovered Breton's marijuana. He told WGME that he didn't expect to get it back.

"I've got no medicine," he said, breaking down into tears. "And I've got to go the whole month now with nothing."