Toppers Pizza and Jimmy John’s were robbed Monday, adding to a string of recent food establishment and liquor store robberies in the campus area, leading police to suspect one person may be committing the crimes.

According to the police report, a man with a pair of scissors robbed Toppers Pizza, 1368 Regent St., at 10:49 p.m. Monday night, fleeing on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The perpetrator’s description is a white male, 5 feet 10 to 6 feet 1, with a slender build, scruffy beard and mustache who was wearing a black puffy coat with a full hood, according to the police report.

On the same day, a man robbed Jimmy John’s at 2807 University Ave. just before 6 p.m. The perpetrator displayed a knife and also got away with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The man is described as a 6-foot, 180-pound white male in his early 20s with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a black jacket with a hood, blue jeans and white shoes, according to the police report.

The campus area has seen five instances of this type of robbery in the last few days. In addition to the two robberies Monday, other locations robbed include Domino’s Pizza on Gorham Street Saturday morning when a man passed a note to an employee implying possession of a gun, Miller’s Liquor on University Avenue Sunday night when a man claimed to have a gun and left with money, and Greenbush Bakery on Regent Street Saturday night when a man demanded money after displaying a knife.

Madison Police Department Public Information Officer Joel DeSpain said the perpetrator descriptions are all somewhat similar.

“We are looking into if a number of these (robberies) may be connected,” DeSpain said.

All the descriptions of the perpetrator point to a 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-1-inch white male, 20 to 25 years old, with either a thin or medium build. Three of the five descriptions also confirm the man to have blue eyes and brown hair.

DeSpain said it is important to note different weapons are used for some of the crimes — either a knife, scissors or a note implying a gun.

The victims of the robberies characterize the man as apologetic, saying he does not want to hurt anyone, DeSpain added.

DeSpain added this type of crime spike has been seen in the past and it is often the case one or two people can drive up the robberies in an area.

“We have seen in the past when we have spike in robberies. … Sometimes these people do this to support a drug habit,” DeSpain said, adding he does not know if this is the case for these robberies.

He went on to say there are a number of frequent targets for robberies and it is not just reserved to pizza joints or other restaurants — any place with accessible money can be targeted.

Anyone with information is urged to call Madison Crime Stoppers at (608) 266-6014.