West Orange police arrested two men late last week who, officials said, are connected to at least three armed robberies in the township's Tory Corner and Eagle Rock sections. They were apprehended with the help of the public, according to Jessica Glicker, the township's public information officer.

James Battle, 19, of West Orange, and Vincent Augustus Rochester, 19, of West Orange, are charged with conspiracy, armed robbery, unlawful possession of a weapon and receiving stolen property.

When arrested, the two had a loaded handgun, police said.

Battle and and Rochester are connected to two Jan. 11 armed robberies on Cherry Street where they allegedly approached four West Orange students around 3 p.m., outside a single-family home. They brandished a chrome-colored handgun and demanded the victims to turn over "whatever was in their pockets," said Glicker. All the suspects received was a single cell phone.

Shortly after that robbery, the two suspects crossed the street and approached another student. They took his coat and then fled on foot, Glicker said.

The duo also are connected to an armed robbery Jan. 14 on Samuel Street on the Montclair border. In that incident, police said a 16-year-old boy was approached around 7 p.m. by a thin black man in his early 20s. The man brandished a handgun and fled with the teenager's cell phone and Bluetooth device.

Both Battle and Rochester are in Essex County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail each.