HUDSON — A 69-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after deputies said he failed in back-to-back attempts to rob businesses.

The third time was the charm, though — and resulted in charges.

Thomas John Adam of Port Richey now faces charges of attempted robbery with a deadly weapon and robbery.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office gave this account of the incident:

The incident started at about 1 p.m. Tuesday. Adam tried sticking up three business along State Road 52.

First, deputies said he steered a black Volkswagen Jetta through the drive-thru of a Regions Bank branch and told the teller to give him $100, and warned that he had a gun in his pocket.

The teller walked away from the window and Adam left.

Then he went to a Sunoco gas station down the road and repeated his line, deputies said. That led the cashier to place Adam in a chokehold and throw him onto the pavement outside the store.

The third attempt took place at Hudson Alterations and Dry Cleaning, deputies said. He repeated the line for a third time, deputies said. The cashier told him she had no money to give him, deputies said, and he told her to open the register. She gave Adam some $20 and $10 bills from the register and he left, deputies said.

What led to his arrest, deputies said, is a tip that a vehicle matching the one seen at the robberies was parked outside his house.

"I robbed the Chinese woman, but I'm gonna give her the $70 back," Adam told deputies, according to an arrest report.

He also told them he lied about having a gun.

Adams was booked into the Pasco County jail, where he was being held in lieu of $70,000 bail.

Contact Justin Trombly at jtrombly@tampabay.com. Follow @JustinTrombly.