The Citizen staff report

A local man was arrested by the Auburn Police Department after he was accused of robbing the out-of-town guests of a Melone Village resident on Tuesday morning, detectives said.

Detectives said Vidal Maurice Whitley, 25, of 20 Thornton Ave., apartment 211, Auburn, is accused of forcing his way into the apartment at 12:13 a.m. to look for the tenant after one of the guests answered the door.

Detectives accuse Whitley of robbing cash from the visitors after he found the tenant had locked themselves in an upstairs bathroom, police said.

Two other men had accompanied Whitley to the apartment, but they have not been charged, police said.

Those suspects were found a short time after they left the apartment when a patrol unit stopped their car, believing it was involved with the incident.

The two men were interviewed and released, detectives said.

Whitley was later found at a residence on Chestnut Street, and was charged with felony burglary and robbery, police said.

The investigation is still ongoing, and more charges are pending. Police ask anyone with information regarding this incident to call Detective Christopher McLoughlin at 255-4706.