Police suspect Marion, Cedar Rapids robberies may be linked

Last night's armed robbery of a Marion pizzeria may be linked to similar incidents last week in Cedar Rapids, police said.

“There's a lot more investigation we have to do, but they do sound connected,” Cedar Rapids Police Capt. Steve O'Konek said this afternoon.

Marion police said one of the two men who robbed Michello's Pizzeria, 808 Seventh Ave., around 10:45 p.m. Monday fired two shots into the restaurant as they ran out of the building. No one was hurt.

Witnesses in Marion said the two men had shirts over their faces. The men in at least two of the recent Cedar Rapids robberies wore bandanas.

Marion Police Lt. Scott Elam said investigators think the suspects Monday night's robbery are also those sought in Cedar Rapids.

Michello's employees told police two black men about 6 feet 1 inch or 6 feet 2 inches tall and with their faces covered entered the restaurant and demanded cash. One of the men was shirtless and carried a handgun, while the other wore a black sleeveless T-shirt and carried a long gun.

The robbers' descriptions appear to match the men who robbed Mama Mia's Pizza and Pasta, 408 Edgewood Rd. NW, around 10:40 p.m. June 16. The Howard Johnson's at 616 33rd Ave. SW, was robbed just before midnight that night, and police suspect the same pair, one armed with a long gun, robbed the Rodeway Inn, 4011 16th Ave. SW, about 1:30 a.m. Friday.

O'Konek said detectives haven't connected the pair to any robberies before last week.

“We're going back to see what else they might be connected to,” he said. “It looks like these guys started their robbery string late last week.”