A robber threatened a customer with a knife during a robbery at a grocery store in west Spokane on Tuesday.

The customer noted the license plate of the car the assailant left in, leading Spokane police detectives Neil Gallion and Tim Madsen to locate a suspect at the West Wynn Motel on Wednesday.

The Honda's owner, Charles D. Stanfield, 38, told police he met a man at the House of Charity who suggested they rob the Safeway on Northwest Boulevard with a knife, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Stanfield said he drove the man, later identified by police as Frank L. Uhyrek, 35, (pictured) to the store and watched him put a yellow and blue ski mask on. He said Frank came running across the street minutes later holding a large amount of cash as two men chased him.

"Frank told him a guy tried to box him in and he told the guy 'don't be a hero,'" according to the affidavit. Stanfield said Uhyrek got about $400 and gave him $10 for gas, as well as money for the motel room.

Stanfield and Uhyrek each were booked into the Spokane County Jail on seven charges of first-degree robbery for each clerk of customer whom allegedly was approached.

Uhyrek was arrested for robbing an 82-year-old man in a wheelchair when he was 19, according to news archives.

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