Beef jerky may have helped Spokane police seal a case against a robbery suspect.

Michael T. Gaze, 28, denied robbing the Conoco at 1602 W. 3rd., but police found a piece of jerky stolen from the store on the ground near him. Gaze was scheduled to plead not guilty to first-degree robbery on Wednesday, but his arraignment was postponed to Jan. 18.

He was arrested Jan. 3 after a clerk said he claimed to have a gun and stole the jerky after she refused to sell him beer because he was drunk, Spokane police said.

The clerk told police that Gaze claimed to have a gun and reached toward his waistband as another employee tried to grab the case of beer from him. The employee saved the beer, but Gaze threatened to shoot him, grabbed a $6.59 package of beef jerky and walked out of the store.

Gaze was arrested a short while later near Pacific and Maple. Already on probation for a drunken driving conviction in 2009, he remains in Spokane County Jail on $75,000 bond.

Spokane police are looking for tips on a serial robber suspected of targeting Hillyard convenience stores.

The latest holdup occurred Friday when police say a man with a handgun stole money from the Qwik Stop, 3021 E. Wellesley Ave., about 12:45 a.m.  after pulling a black and white scarf over his face. He’s described as in his 20s with dark complexion, 6 feet tall and average build. He wore a black coat and blue jeans. 

The same gunman is believed to have robbed two other Hillyard stores three times late last month, Officer Jennifer DeRuwe said today.

Surveillance photos from Conoco, 3501 E. Francis Ave., show a man in a blue hooded sweatshirt pointing a gun at a clerk and demanding cash on Oct. 24 about 7:45 p.m.

The same robber is believed to have struck Kwik Stop & Go, 4713 N. Crestline, the mornings of Oct. 23 and Oct. 24.

Anyone with information on a suspect is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

Spokane police are looking for a gunman suspected of three armed robberies in two days. 

Surveillance photos from Conoco, 3501 E. Francis Ave., show a man in a blue hooded sweatshirt pointing a gun at a clerk and demanding cash on Sunday about 7:45 p.m.

He left with an undisclosed amount of money.

Police believe the same man may have robbed Kwik Stop & Go, 4713 N. Crestline, about 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, then again on Sunday about 9:30 a.m.

Police describe the robber as a light-skinned, Hispanic or Native American man.

Anyone with information on a suspect is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.