A series of weekend crimes appeared to be woven together Tuesday when Vicksburg police stopped a vehicle on Monroe Street initially believed to be connected to a triple shooting Friday. Authorities later said the men in the vehicle could provide a link to the man suspected of committing violent crimes in the same area where an 86-year-old woman had been attacked Friday.

While the rape victim was believed to be recovering this morning in River Region Medical Center’s intensive care unit from a heart attack that happened about a day after the rape, officers with the Vicksburg Police Department teamed up with Warren County Sheriff’s Department to continue the investigation, Lt. Bobby Stewart of the Vicksburg Police Department said.

The arrest of the two Vicksburg men by Vicksburg police Tuesday morning after a traffic stop involved a foot pursuit of one believed to be an indirect link to 20-year-old Quinton Williams, wanted for a probation violation from the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

In addition, police believe Williams could be involved in two armed robberies reported this year. The first was reported in the 200 block of Bazinsky Road, and the second blocks away in the 400 block of Lake Hill Road. Friday’s rape was in the same neighborhood, off Halls Ferry Road just north of Waterways Experiment Station.

Police Sgt. Tom Wilson said officers were working this morning with the Warren County Sheriff’s Office to find and arrest Williams.

Wilson said Tuesday’s incident allowed authorities to “stumble upon people” who might be indirectly related to the suspect. He has also said authorities are trying to close all of the unsolved cases in the area, which includes the Friday rape, one that happened two years ago and other attacks since 2004.

“We’re receiving calls as to his location,” Wilson said. “It’s a joint investigation between (the police) and the sheriff’s department. We both have interest in the case.”

The two men arrested Tuesday, Willie Thompson, 20, 150 Openwood Lane, and Artilius Burnett, 33, 907 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., were stopped at 11:46 at Monroe and Grove streets. Police initially thought the men were involved in the Friday shooting at Autumn Oak Townhouses, 4920 Halls Ferry Road, that sent three men to the hospital, Stewart said. Sheriff’s deputies arrested Danny Curry, 19, 4920 Halls Ferry Road, Apt. 15, and charged him with aggravated assault in the Friday shooting. Curry was arrested at about 9 a.m. Tuesday at the apartment complex. No bond information was available.

“More arrests are expected,” Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said this morning.

Two victims of the shooting remained at University Medical Center. Zachary Bryant, 19, was listed in fair condition, and Robert Hunt, 26, remained in good condition, a hospital spokesman said this morning. The third victim, Derrick Jackson, 32, listed in good condition at River Region Medical Center Tuesday morning, was no longer listed in the hospital’s file, a spokesman said.

Stewart said officers stopped a 2001 beige Chevrolet Suburban driven by Thompson because the vehicle was believed to have been involved in the shooting. Burnett ran from police, who chased him to China and Cherry streets, where he was arrested, Wilson said. Stewart said, although the two men were later cleared of any involvement in the shooting, the license plate on the Suburban belonged to a 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier that was reported stolen Sept. 5 from Atwood Chevrolet. The Suburban, however, was on loan from the car dealership, Stewart said.

Burnett and Thompson were both charged on misdemeanor charges for possession of the stolen tags and have since been released. A third man was a passenger in the vehicle, but was released at the scene, Stewart said.

The victim of Friday’s rape was sent to River Region Medical Center after the attack and later released. About a day later, she returned to the hospital after a reported heart attack, Stewart said. The victim told police she heard a noise that awakened her and caused her to go downstairs to investigate. Her assailant, who police said entered by breaking a window, attacked her and stole about $20 before fleeing.

Two years ago, a 91-year-old woman, who has since died, was attacked in her home about two blocks from where the Friday rape occurred. Stewart said an elderly woman was also raped in the area a year earlier.

Separately, in 2006, a teenager in the same neighborhood told police a man entered her home and attempted to attack her. The girl told authorities that she hid in a bathroom until her assailant left the home. She was treated on the scene for a cut she said she inflicted during a struggle with her attacker. Since Friday’s attack, police have warned people living in the neighborhood to be cautious.

Crime Stoppers has issued a $2,000 reward for any information regarding the Friday attack. If caught, the person charged in the rape could face charges that exceed life in prison, because of the burglary and stolen money, District Attorney Gil Martin said.