Youths beat and rob woman

A woman trying to lend a helping hand to three youths was instead hit with a hammer and robbed early Saturday morning, Colorado Springs police said.

The incident began at about 12:45 a.m. Saturday, when a 35-year-old woman was entering a shopping center in Stetson Hills.

Three juveniles, a 17-year-old boy, a 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl, approached her and asked for a ride home. She agreed, but said she needed to shop first.

When she left the store, the teens were still there and she gave them a ride to a nearby apartment complex at 5400 Grantsville Grove.

The youths then asked the woman to come inside to confirm to their parents that they had been stranded. She agreed and the group walked around the apartments to a grassy area where the woman was struck twice on the head and kicked after falling to the ground.

The youths told the woman they would kill her if she moved. They took the woman's keys, then ran off and drove away in her 2004 Honda Accord.

The woman contacted a resident of the complex, who called police.

An officer spotted the car about a mile from the apartment complex and stopped it near Charlotte Parkway and Anna Lee Way where the juveniles were arrested on suspicion of aggravated robbery and assault.

The boy was carrying a hammer police believe was used in the attack.

The woman was treated at a local hospital and released. Police said her injuries were not serious.