VIDALIA, La. – Four heavily armed men suspected of robbing a Ferriday furniture store Monday afternoon were quickly captured by sheriff’s deputies after their car skidded off rain-slick U.S. 84 and into a field near Vidalia.

Those arrested included 23-year-old twins Marcus Porter and Michael Porter, both of Memphis; Stanton Eugene &uot;Donny&uot;&160;Easley, 41, also of Memphis; and Antonio Hawkins, 21, of Vidalia. All four were booked into the parish jail Monday evening on charges of armed robbery and flight from an officer.

The four men are being charged with the armed robbery of Ezy Pay Furniture in Ferriday. The men allegedly entered the store at 5:10 p.m., telling the four employees inside that if they didn’t cooperate, they would be killed, said Sheriff Randy Maxwell. The alleged robbers were armed with a Tek-9 automatic and a Mack-10 semiautomatic with 20 to 25 rounds each, he said.

&uot;You don’t hunt with these guns — you hunt cops with these guns,&uot; Maxwell said. &uot;Somebody could have been seriously hurt.&uot;

The four allegedly fled with an undetermined amount of cash in a maroon Buick that was later found to be stolen from Memphis.

But a passing motorist had already seen the robbery in progress and called the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Danny Merrill spotted the Buick and chased it down U.S. 84, sometimes at speeds over 100 miles per hour, until the Buick lost control on the wet road and skidded into a field next to the Super Flea Market outside Vidalia.

Since it was close to shift change time for the Sheriff’s Office, officers who were finishing their day and those starting their shifts were available to assist with the call — about 10 in all, not counting police from Ferriday and Vidalia.

When the four men tried to flee on foot across the field, enough officers converged on the scene to catch two of the alleged robbers in the field. Officers soon caught up with the other two in nearby woods, Maxwell said.

Officers recovered $5,000 in cash, the Tek-9 and the Mack-10 the men had dropped in the field as they fled, Maxwell said. Additional evidence was recovered, but Maxwell would not say what type of evidence.

The four are also suspected of being involved in an armed robbery at the Pizza Hut on Carter Street in Vidalia at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Maxwell said. Three black males wearing ski masks robbed the restaurant of an undetermined amount of cash.

The robbers also hit an employee on the head with a weapon during that robbery. As of Monday, that case was still under investigation, said Police Chief Billy Hammers.

To Maxwell, the two armed robberies showed that rural areas aren’t exempt from big-city crimes — but also showed that different law enforcement agencies, working with citizens, can put a quick and safe end to such crimes.

All those involved in catching the four alleged robbers &uot;did a hell of a job,&uot; Maxwell said.