A Chicago man has been charged with armed robbery after police said he used a knife to rob three North Shore stores and attempted to rob another.

Austin Pierce, 25, has been charged with the robberies in Winnetka, Wilmette, Glenview and Northfield, police said.

The spree began May 16 at Yellow Bird Stationary Store in Wilmette’s Plaza del Lago, where a man wearing a lifeguard sweatshirt implied he had a knife and left with $200. On May 17, a man holding a knife ordered an employee at Claire’s in Glenview to open the cash register. He fled when the employee escaped through the front door.  Later that day, a man matching the same description threatened an employee at Northfield’s Rocky Mountain Chocolate Shop with a knife and left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

On May 18, Pierce allegedly entered Creme de la Creme at Hubbard Woods in Winnetka and displayed a knife to the store’s employees, according to a press release issued by the Winnetka Police Department. He demanded cash and fled after taking $225, police said.

Earlier: Store Owners Remain Mostly Unfazed by Armed Robberies Nearby

According to TribLocal, Pierce was already in custody before being charged with the North Shore robberies because police said he used a knife and syringe to rob five Chicago businesses from May 18 and May 22. One of the North Shore store clerks identified Pierce based on a photo after his initial arrest, the article says.

Pierce will appear at the 2nd District Courthouse in Skokie at 9 a.m. Monday for a bond hearing.