-- From Seattle Times staff reporter Sara Jean Green

A woman's cell phone was snatched, a man was struck in the head and robbed of his cash, and another man was threatened by a group of robbers, but armed with a shotgun he got from home, was able to fend them off -- all in the span of an hour Friday night in Ballard.

Seattle robbery detectives are looking for four suspects in their late teens or early 20s, said Seattle police Sgt. Sean Whitcomb. Police believe all three strong-arm robberies are connected. Suspect descriptions were not available.

At 11:12 p.m., a woman walking in the 5600 block of Phinney Avenue North was accosted by two, young adult males, who demanded her cell phone, Whitcomb said. She gave it to them and they ran off.

Twenty minutes later, a man walking in the 3200 block of Northwest Market Street was confronted by two, young adult males. The assailants struck the man in the head and knocked him to the ground, forcing him to surrender his cash, Whitcomb said. The suspects ran away and the man declined medical attention.

Then, at 11:51 p.m., a man was walking home in the 2400 block of Northwest 58th Street when he was confronted by four, young adult men, Whitcomb said. The robbers implied they had a weapon but the victim didn't see one. He ran home, armed himself with a shotgun and chased the suspects away.

Soon after, at 12:14 a.m. Saturday, residents living in the 1700 block of Northwest 61st Street called 911 to report that some men were looking into vehicles and acting suspiciously, he said. Officers stopped, questioned and identified one man who was found in the 2400 block of Northwest 59th Street, Whitcomb said. Though detectives believe he may be associated with the earlier robberies, there wasn't enough evidence to arrest him.

"We think they're all connected," Whitcomb said. The two men from the earliest robbery are believed to be involved in all three robberies while the other two may have acted as lookouts, he said.