A San Mateo man who worked as a janitor at several Shell service stations on the Peninsula is now accused of robbing them, a prosecutor said.

Marlon Arbulu, 27, is accused of going on a two-week robbery spree in which he hit the same service station, and same clerk, twice in San Mateo as well stations in San Carlos and San Bruno, said chief deputy district attorney Steve Wagstaffe. The managers at the San Mateo station recognized Arbulu when watching surveillance footage and realized he used to work there as a janitor.

Arbulu pleaded not guilty Friday in San Mateo County Superior Court to robbery and burglary charges, said Wagstaffe.

Prosecutors say the robberies started Nov. 28 at a Shell station on Peninsula Avenue in San Mateo. Arbulu is accused of passing the clerk a note that demanded cash and warned there would be trouble if the money wasn't handed over. Authorities say Arbulu got away with about $200. He came back on Dec. 12 and said he didn't get enough money the first time and ordered the clerk, who was behind the counter at the first robbery, to give him more, according to authorities; he escaped with an undetermined amount of money.

Prosecutors said he robbed a Shell station in San Carlos on Dec. 14 and then held up one in San Bruno on Dec 16. Based on information from his previous employers, police identified Arbulu as a suspect in the crimes. He was arrested in a San Bruno hotel on the same day as the last robbery.

Source: Mercury News