Subway of Alaska is offering a $10,000 reward to catch the man or men who robbed two of their sandwich shops and beat employees in August and September, a company spokesman said.
Police said the first robbery occurred Aug. 3 at a Subway on West Northern Lights Boulevard. A man wearing a puffy "Phat Farm" jacket pointed a gun at an employee, then hit the employee with the gun after getting cash, police said.
On Sept. 3, a man wearing new skiing gear -- possibly stolen -- robbed the Subway on Northway Drive and assaulted a 19-year-old employee after she gave him money, police said.
The suspect in the first robbery stood between 6 feet and 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighed about 150 pounds, police said. Police said the suspect in the second robbery was described as dark-skinned and of average build.
Police spokesman Lt. Dave Parker said detectives are not sure if the same person robbed both stores, "but that was the natural assumption."
"It would be really nice to catch this guy before he finds another Subway store," Parker said.
Subway was offering the reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for either of the robberies, company vice president Chris Wilson said.
In 20 years with Subway, Wilson said he'd never heard of an employee being injured during a robbery. But with two workers pistol-whipped in about a month's time, the company wants to keep its staff and customers safe, Wilson said.
"We're just trying to do what we can to get this perpetrator off the streets," he said.
Tips can be delivered anonymously to Anchorage Crime Stoppers at 561-STOP or at www.anchoragecrimestoppers.com.
Reach Casey Grove at casey.grove@adn.com or 257-4589.
By CASEY GROVE
Anchorage Daily News