UPDATE: Suspect in Oakdale thefts turns himself in to police

UPDATE: Oakdale Police said a 24-year-old Maplewood man turned himself in to police Tuesday morning.

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Oakdale police are asking for the public's help identifying a suspect in recent thefts at several local businesses.

The department said an Asian man believed to be in his early 20s walked into an Oakdale Holiday, located on Hadley Avenue near 10th Street, at about 8 p.m. on Feb. 27 and requested change for a dollar. When the register opened, he reached across the counter and grabbed cash from the drawer, and then fled in a dark-colored Jeep SUV, possibly a Cherokee. Police said the man did the same thing a short time later at Smokedale on 10th Street.

The license plate (MN/CBB932) on the vehicle used was stolen, police said but surveillance video showed the man wearing a dark-colored North Face jacket and a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball cap.

Police said similar incidents also occurred previously at Holiday and Hy-Vee gas stations.

Then, on Sunday at about 8:48 a.m., officers responded to an alarm and robbery report at a Holiday store, located near Hadley Avenue and 34th Street, where the same suspect is believed to have stolen more cash from the register.

Police said no weapons have been displayed or implied in any of the incidents, but in Sunday's incident, the suspect grabbed the employee's arm. The same vehicle continues to be used in the thefts.

Anyone with information that could help police identify the man is asked to contact the department by calling 911 or 651-702-5204.