Police believe the robbery suspect arrested in Chesapeake Wednesday may be the serial robber sought across Hampton Roads, including Suffolk and Isle of Wight County, for forcing his victims to disrobe before he tying them up with plastic zip ties.

Chesapeake authorities apprehended the suspect, whose name had not been released at press time, after he allegedly robbed two female employees at gunpoint at All the Rage, a bridal shop in the Greenbrier area, around 10 a.m. Wednesday, said Christina Golden, a spokeswoman for the Chesapeake Police Department.

After taking the victims’

ATM cards and forcing them to reveal their access numbers, the robbers bound the woman and stuffed cloths into their mouths.

Police were alerted to the robbery after one of the victims hit the store’s panic button, Golden said.

When police attempted to stop a vehicle fitting the description of the suspect who committed the serial robberies in the vicinity, the vehicle refused to pull over, she said.

The driver then led police on a pursuit that ended in a Great Bridge subdivision.

Suffolk police believe the suspect may also be responsible for the June 2 break-in at Fashion Cents on North Main Street, said Lt. Debbie George, spokeswoman for the Suffolk Police Department.

During that incident, a white male went into the store and robbed the store clerk and gunpoint before tying her up.

He fled the scene in a white vehicle.

&uot;We are looking into the possibility that he could be the person we’ve been looking for,&uot; George said.

The suspect may also be responsible for a similar armed robbery last Saturday at Endless Summer Tanning salon in Windsor.

Last week, authorities in Hampton Roads began collaborating with police from as far away as Lynchburg and Richmond in investigating a dozen similar robberies across the state, George said.

allison.williams@suffolknewsherald.com