The Pierce County prosecutor’s office recently charged a man who allegedly robbed more than 15 restaurants at gunpoint, including two in Federal Way.

Jason Michael Woods, 41, faces four counts of first-degree robbery, one count of first-degree attempted robbery, possession of a firearm and two counts of drug possession. Investigators believe there is a “long string of similar type robberies” and are working to charge him with those as well.

Tacoma police arrested Woods on Jan. 18 after detectives ran a DNA analysis on a jacket and knit cap they found near a robbery scene. The clothing matched what the suspect was wearing in the video surveillance of the robbery at a Tacoma Denny’s restaurant in November and two witnesses identified him in a photo montage.

The suspect had a specific modus operandi: He would order food to go during his heists and then display a handgun.

Although he hasn’t been charged for the Federal Way robberies, he is a suspect in the Denny’s robbery on South 320th Street on Dec. 2. According to police reports, at approximately 6:45 a.m. the suspect entered the restaurant and asked about using the restroom. When he came out of the restroom, an employee went to the cash register area where he was at, provided him a menu and went back to count her till.

The suspect asked the employee for a hot chocolate and she went to get it, taking her till with her. When she moved back to set the till down and get his hot chocolate, the suspect was suddenly next to her behind the counter in the employee-only area.

He had a handgun and demanded she give him the money. The suspect took the cash and some change and walked out of the restaurant. She described the suspect as a white male with scruffy facial hair, wearing a gray and white hat, gray hoodie and jeans. A witness saw the suspect walk around the building towards the parking lot and get into the passenger side of an older red Ford F350 pickup with a canopy on it.

Police believe the same man robbed the IHOP on Campus Drive on Nov. 17.

When police arrested Woods, they found a Ruger handgun, methamphetamine and heroin. He denied robbing any restaurants. Woods has one prior conviction of robbery in the first degree.