Officers arrested two La Plata men suspected of robbing a man of his tennis shoes at gunpoint Dec. 21 in the 4700 block of Sheffield Court in Waldorf, the Charles County Sheriff's Office reported.

Antonio Malachi Bryant, 20, and Derrick Renoldo Pitts Jr., 18, have both been charged with armed robbery, assault and theft for allegedly agreeing to buy a pair of tennis shoes from an 18-year-old acquaintance, but then robbing him instead.

The victim agreed over a social networking site to sell the shoes to Pitts, police said.

Pitts drove to the victim's house with two other men, and the victim got in Pitts' car with the shoes.

At that point one of the men, believed to be Bryant, pulled out a gun and demanded the shoes and the victim's cash, police said. The victim complied and the robbers drove off.

Officers responded at 4:10 p.m. to the victim's 911 call.

A lookout for Pitts' car was broadcast. Shortly thereafter, Cpl. C. Strafella saw the car near the intersection of U.S. 301 and St. Patrick's Drive.

Strafella pulled the car over and arrested Pitts, who was alone. Officers found evidence inside the car linking Pitts to the robbery, police said.

After arresting Pitts, investigators soon identified Bryant as the suspected gunman. A La Plata town officer pulled Bryant over at 10:45 p.m. for speeding on Charles Street.

During the traffic stop, officers noticed Bryant was wearing the stolen tennis shoes and also found him carrying the victim's cash and a loaded handgun, police said.

Bryant pleaded guilty last year to an April 2011 robbery. He was ordered held on $250,000 bail at a Wednesday hearing. Pitts is being held on $20,000 bail.

The investigation is ongoing.

JEFF NEWMAN