BATON ROUGE — A man accused of multiple armed robberies in Mid-City was arrested on Friday.

Baton Rouge Police said that 32-year-old Montrel Alexander became a suspect in two armed robberies that the agency had been investigating since April 11.

The first robbery happened near a home on Rittiner Drive. Police said that the suspect, later identified as Alexander, held a woman at knifepoint during the early hours of April 11. Police added that the suspected robber also attacked and beat her, leaving her with a laceration on her head. 

Police said that the female victim told them that she saw the man who robbed her earlier that morning. He walked up to her and asked for a cigarette before returning to rob her. The suspected robber was wearing the same clothes as the man who asked for a cigarette, she told police. 

According to arrest records, Alexander held another person at gunpoint and robbed them on April 13 at the St. Rose Apartments, located just one block east of the Rittiner robbery along McGrath Street. Police say that he shot into the air and ran away on foot after robbing the alleged victim. 

Police noted that the suspects in both robberies were identified as having similar features and wearing similar clothes. 

BRPD said Alexander was identified as the suspect after witnesses identified him, as well as video surveillance footage and cell phone data placed him in the Mid-City area during both robberies.

Alexander's phone records obtained from a previous investigation show that he left the scene of the alleged April 11 robbery shortly after it reportedly took place. 

On Friday, he was booked for armed robbery and second-degree battery. Police said he was previously arrested for various drug, burglary and resisting arrest charges.