Were gas stations hit by the same man?

A man who held up a Shell gas station in Santa Rosa may be the same man who tried to rob another one four days later, Santa Rosa police said Monday.

The description of the man involved in the two crimes is similar, Sgt. Lisa Banayat said.

In the first robbery, Aug. 17, the man gave a clerk a note demanding cash. The note also said he was armed.

He was given an undisclosed amount of cash and left the Cleveland Avenue station.

On Thursday afternoon at about 1:30 p.m., a man walked into the Shell station on Steele Lane. He told a clerk he wanted cash and carried a handgun in his waistband.

The clerk refused to hand over any money. The man slapped her and left, police reported.

He was seen leaving in an older model black Honda Accord.

The man in both crimes was described as a white man in his early 20’s.

In the robbery, the man was said to be about 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds. He wore a dark shirt and pants and had short brown hair and green eyes.

In the attempted robbery and assault on the clerk, he was described as being about 5-foot-7 with a thin build. He wore a blue baseball cap, white T-shirt and blue jeans.

Banayat asked anyone with information on the two cases to contact Detective Mark Mahre at 543-3590.