Tavern Robber Also Store Holdup Suspect

A masked bandit armed with a pistol held up a Spokane Valley tavern Wednesday. Sheriff’s deputies think he’s the same man who robbed a Valley convenience store earlier this week.

Wednesday’s robbery occurred about 10 p.m. at the Valley Ho Tavern on East Trent.

Customers and employees told deputies a man wearing a black and blue ski mask walked in, brandished a black semiautomatic pistol and demanded money from the cash register and safe.

He left with a small amount of cash.

Witnesses said the robber is white, in his late 20s or early 30s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and 150 pounds. They said he wore a brown flannel shirt, blue jeans and fingerless gloves.

On Monday, a man matching that description robbed the Chevron gas station and convenience store at Argonne and Trent, deputies said. That robber also wore a dark ski mask and was armed with a black pistol.

Anyone with information on either of the robberies is asked to call Crime Check at 456-2233.