Anchorage Daily News

Police arrested a 28-year-old Anchorage man Friday they believe is connected to a string of stickups over the past four weeks.

The suspect, Jelani McCall, is charged with robbery, theft and felony assault. Police say he held up the Inlet Inn downtown around 5:45 a.m., and suspect McCall robbed 15 other businesses since April 13.

More charges may follow, said police spokesman Lt. Paul Honeman.

The latest holdup began when a man with a handgun and a cold-weather mask covering half his face walked into the Inlet Inn on H Street.

"I'd just returned to the office, sat down, heard the door open and looked up," said desk clerk Monte Howell. "There was a guy pointing the gun at me."

"Give me the money and make it quick," the man said.

Howell put the cash on the counter.

Is that everything, the robber asked?

"I said, 'There's some change,' and he just scooped it up and took off," Howell said.

The clerk called police, who soon heard reports of a weapons-related disturbance in Midtown, near the Carrs grocery store at the Sears Mall. A man was chasing another man with a gun, according to police.

That's where they found McCall, who was trying to get into a van parked by the nearby Denny's restaurant. A witness or witnesses identified McCall as the hotel robber, police say.

Honeman said the holdups appear drug-related.

The robberies began with a stickup at the Fireweed movie theater, and the robber grew increasingly bold, starting with businesses that were relatively empty but eventually demanding cash even with customers nearby.

Police say one man appeared to be responsible for each robbery, based on witness descriptions. He robbed pull-tab parlors and hotels, gas stations and movie theaters, often wearing a ski mask, sunglasses and gloves.

No one was injured during the holdups. McCall was taken to Anchorage jail with bail set at $31,000.

Find Kyle Hopkins' political blog online at adn.com/alaskapolitics or call him at 257-4334.

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