Newark police have arrested three people in connection to the murders of two men, including a bodega owner who died while protecting his store.

Police believe that the triggerman in both of the killings, one on Dec. 28, the other on Jan. 17, is just 16 years old.

Police didn't identify the suspect because he is a minor. However, they did identify his alleged accomplice, 18-year-old Isiah Adams, of Newark.

Police say Adams was the lookout in surveillance video released by police last week, and the 16-year-old was the triggerman in a shooting at the JNC Mini mart last Tuesday. The shooting left the owner, 37-year-old Miguel Torres, dead after he allegedly gave up his money too slowly.

The 16-year-old is also believed to have shot and killed another Newark man about three weeks earlier during an armed robbery.

Police arrested an accomplice in that crime, 19-year-old Azil Ellington, of East Orange, for carjacking. Ellington is accused of taking the car and driving the 16-year-old to the scene where the armed robbery took place.

Latino grocery store owners got together and canvassed the area, and their efforts provided the tip that broke the case. Police say someone tipped off a Dominican grocer with a name last Friday that led investigators to make the arrests. All three suspects are now in custody.