A Granite City woman has been charged with armed robbery and attempted armed robbery after weekend crime spree.

Amy L. Zielinski, 34, of 128 Troeckler Lane, was jailed on $100,000 bail in connection with an armed robbery and two more failed armed robbery attempts, according to Madison County Sheriff's Department spokesman Mike Dixon.

About noon on Saturday, a woman fitting Zielinski's description went to the BP gas station at 1301 E. Chain of Rocks Road in Pontoon Beach, where she displayed what appeared to be a handgun and robbed the business, police said.

At 12:17 p.m. Saturday, a person believed to be the same suspect went to Gene's Barber shop at 101 Lenox Ave. in Granite City, where she grabbed her waistband to imply she had a gun and demanded that a man selling pecans out front give her his wallet. The victim complied and, after inspecting the wallet to discover it contained no money, she returned it and fled.

While meeting with the victim on Lenox Avenue, the Sheriff's Department received another report of an attempted armed robbery at the 508 Variety Store at 508 E. Chain of Rocks Road in Granite City.

A clerk told deputies a female suspect who matched the description of the person who committed the first two crimes attempted to rob the business.

The woman entered the store just before noon and asked the clerk for a pack of cigarettes. As the clerk retrieved the cigarettes, the suspect lifted her shirt to display her waistband and told the clerk to give her all the money. The clerk told deputies that he didn't see a weapon, but said the suspect acted as if she had one. The clerk thought the woman was playing a joke and the suspect left the business without any money in a red Pontiac Sunfire.

At about 4 p.m., Pontoon Beach Police stopped a vehicle that matched the suspect vehicle description on Illinois 111. Zielinski was driving. According to police reports, a search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of a toy handgun.