COEUR d'ALENE - Coeur d'Alene police have apprehended the man believed to be responsible for robbing a pair of stores last week, after the suspect walked out of a bedroom while officers interviewed his girlfriend at a Cd'A residence.

Christopher Michael Hastings was arrested Friday for his role in robbing Walgreens and Tesoro stores Sept. 17 and 18, a crime to which the suspect reportedly confessed, according to a press release from the police department.

Two other suspects who could have played a role in the robberies have been identified by detectives, police said. Charges for armed robbery are pending on a 39 year-old-female and a 28-year-old male, both of Coeur d'Alene, whose names will be provided if they are formally charged.

The robberies, pulled off by an armed suspect with a similar description, occurred less than 30 minutes apart at the two different stores late at night Sept. 17 and early in the morning Sept. 18.

At Tesoro, the suspect made off with an undisclosed amount of cash. At Walgreens, about three miles away, the suspect only took cigarettes after the store employee did not give him the money he had demanded. In both instances the suspect showed the employees a handgun.

Surveillance video captured images of the suspect, as well as possible getaway drivers, and after the heist police issued a press release identifying Hastings as a suspect.

Acting on a tip, officers contacted Hastings' reported girlfriend, Brandy Thompson, around 11:20 a.m. Friday at 724 N. Seventh St.

Thompson denied knowing Hastings' real identity, the release said. But while detectives were speaking to her, they saw a male matching the description of Hastings step out of a bedroom.

Thompson told the officers that the male's name was Tim, and when officers spoke to the man he denied being Hastings.

Detectives had photos of a tattoo that Hastings has on his arm, according to the release. Officers used the photo to match the inked design on the arm of the man standing in front of them.

"It is a large tattoo that is similar to the Creature of the Black Lagoon that covers his entire arm from the top of his biceps down to his elbow," the release described it.

After more questioning, the suspect confessed to being Hastings, the release said, and a little later, Hastings admitted his role in the robberies.

Police Sgt. Christie Wood said Thompson was not charged with obstruction because she told officers she knew her boyfriend as Tim, and not Christopher Hastings.