HOUSTON -- Two men robbed two convenience stores within 25 minutes of each other, police told KPRC Local 2 Tuesday.

Houston police said the men first robbed the Exxon station in the 3000 block of Ella Boulevard at 10:21 p.m. on April 12.

One of the men laid a small semiautomatic gun on the counter, officials said. The men demanded the clerks open the register and the clerks complied, police said. The men got mad when the clerks told them the safe could not be opened.

The men went to the Texaco station in the 7500 block of Lyons Avenue at 10:45 p.m., police said.

One of the men pointed a gun at a clerk and a customer, police said. The men counted back from five after they demanded the clerk open the safe, investigators said. The clerk told the men the safe could not be opened and the men left the store with money from the register, officials said.

Police said the men tried to get away in a maroon 1992 Toyota Tercel, but got stuck in a ditch and fled on foot.

The men were described as black, 20 to 30 years old, 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet 3 inches tall and 180 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.