UPDATE: Two Men Arrested for Store Robberies in West Des Moines and Ankeny

Police have arrested two men in connection with early-morning convenience store holdups in Ankeny, where a clerk was beaten up, and another robbery about an hour later in West Des Moines.

Christopher Michael Lince, 26, of 5758 Vista Drive in West Des Moines, and Zakerie Taylor Songer, 23, of 1000 Maple St., Sidney, both face felony first-degree burglary charges in connection with the robberies, police said. Their arrests came after a joint investigation between West Des Moines and Ankeny police.

In the second burglary, employees at a West Des Moines Kum & Go store at 7265 Vista Drive said that two men with their faces covered entered the store, one displaying a handgun, and demanded money and cigarettes, according to a news release from the West Des Moines Police Department.

Police said the suspects left the store and went to a nearby hotel parking lot, then left the area in a gold Ford Taurus. Authorities located the suspects' vehicle in an apartment complex parking lot and found one of the suspects nearby. The second suspect was found in an apartment inside the complex, where a search turned up evidence police believe is connected to the robberies, according to the release.

Earlier, Patch reported:

Robbers beat an Ankeny convenience store clerk and fired one shot into the shop's ceiling overnight before fleeing, according to an news release.

Ankeny authorities said a similar robbery took place later in the morning at a West Des Moines Kum & Go store.

Ankeny police officers responded to the at 1025 E. First St. about 3:11 a.m. Friday on a report of a robbery. When officers arrived, the two suspects had already fled the scene.

According to the department's release, the clerk said two white men entered the store and confronted him at the front counter. One suspect allegedly showed a handgun and demanded money from the cash register, then fired one shot into the ceiling above the cash register.

Police said the second suspect walked behind the counter and reportedly struck the clerk in his face with a closed fist multiple times. The suspects took an undisclosed amount of money from the register and left on foot. 

The clerk had visible swelling and bruising to his face but denied medical attention, police said. Ankeny detectives remained on the scene for several hours collecting evidence.

Detectives are working closely with West Des Moines police and comparing notes to a similar robbery at a Kum & Go convenience store that occurred in their city shortly after the robbery in Ankeny.