Richmond police have arrested a Henrico County man for the first of two robberies within six hours in Carytown this week.

Police said today they have charged Corey A. Thomas, 30, of the 1900 block of Bloom Lane, with Monday's robbery and felonious use of a firearm in the robbery of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream in Carytown.

They said Thomas entered the store at 2901 W. Cary St. just after noon and told an employee he had a gun, though he did not show one, and demanded money, police said.

Based on witness accounts and descriptions, police identified Thomas and arrested him that night. They also said they intend to seek an indictment for him for a robbery at Sticky to Go, 2227 W. Main St., on Sunday.

The second Carytown robbery occurred at about 6:20 p.m. at the Aquarian Bookstore at 3519 Ellwood Ave. Police said the suspect was not armed and that the robbery is under investigation.

Raylene Wilkinson, president of the Carytown Merchants Association, said today that the two robberies may be related, but she is awaiting the results of the police investigation.

"Periodically, things happen in all retail areas," said Wilkinson, owner of Raylene's Pennyrich. "The important thing is our police are on top of this and they're getting people off the street as quickly as possible."

Two other downtown businesses were robbed yesterday, and in each case the suspects were armed with a gun. Two men robbed the Limited Edition store at 302 Goshen St., near Virginia Commonwealth University, at about 12:25 p.m.

At about 4 p.m. yesterday, a man and a woman robbed The Hook Up at 325 W. Broad St.

Police had no further information today about either robbery.

-- Michael Martz