LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Las Cruces Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the suspect who they believe is responsible for two armed robberies that happened early in the morning of Dec. 31, 2009.

Around 1:20 a.m. police were called to the La Quinta Inn and Suites at 790 Avenida de Mesilla where an employee told police he was robbed by a man who threatened him with a handgun. The suspect was last seen running westbound toward a McDonald’s restaurant across the street.

Police said two hours later around 3:20 a.m., police were called to the Circle K at 617 W. Picacho Ave. after a man indicated he had a gun underneath a dark-colored sweater and demanded cash from the store’s clerk.

The suspect in both incidents was described as a Hispanic man with black hair, 5-feet-6 to 5-feet-8-inches tall and weighing around 180 pounds. The suspect was wearing a dark-colored t-shirt, dark jeans and carrying a dark-colored towel or sweater that he used to conceal a weapon.

If you have any information regarding the armed robberies, or the identity of the suspect believed to be responsible for these crimes, you are asked to call Las Cruces Crime Stoppers at 526-8000 or outside the Las Cruces area at 1-800-897-2746.