Two men have been charged in connection with robberies of two Kalihi convenience stores in the past week.

Maliepo Sitani, 21, was charged yesterday with two counts of second-degree robbery. His bail was set at $50,000.

Randal Strong Jr., 20, was charged with two counts of fourth-degree theft. Strong, whose bail was set at $1,000, is accused of shoplifting food and beer during the holdups.

Sitani and Strong were arrested early Sunday morning following a robbery at a Kalihi convenience store.

Two women who work at the store said two men entered about 3 a.m. and one of them walked around the end of the checkout counter, told the employee to open the register and took all of the money, police said.

The other man, identified by police as Strong, grabbed two bentos. The two men ran out of the store, but were captured nearby by police responding to the robbery call.

The two men also were charged in the robbery Thursday of a different Kalihi convenience store. In that case, one of the men walked into the store, grabbed three cases of beer and fled. The other man, identified by police as Sitani, walked into the cashier's station, told a female employee that he had a knife and ordered her to open the register. The man removed cash from the register, took several cartons of cigarettes and cases of beer, and fled.

Police also have been searching for two male suspects in the robberies of three Kalihi 7-Eleven stores that have occurred since Feb. 26. In two of the incidents, the men assaulted employees before taking several cases of beer, police said.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.