Photo: Pharmacy Customer Kicks Robbery Suspect In The Face
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 28-year-old man faces charges in connection to two robberies in St. Paul Monday night, one in which surveillance images show a customer intervening, kicking the robber in the face.
Simon James Hanson, of Forest Lake, Minn., is charged with one count of first-degree attempted aggravated robbery.
The first robbery attempt took place around 11:35 p.m. Monday at Corner Gas on 306 Larpenteur Ave. E., police said.
Once in the store, Hanson pulled out a butcher knife and told the clerk to open the register. When Hanson was behind the counter, the clerk pushed the silent alarm button and told Hanson he was doing so. Hanson then fled the store without any money.
A short time later, around 11:58 p.m., police responded to a robbery in progress at the CVS Pharmacy on 810 Maryland Ave. E.
There, Hanson approached the clerk and demanded money from the register, police said.
According to the criminal complaint, a customer saw the robbery taking place and intervened by jumping up on the counter and kicking Hanson in the face.
Hanson ran from the store with $112 in cash and was seen heading west on Rose Avenue.
But when he suffered the kick to the face, Hanson lost his phone, which police recovered.
Hanson called his phone around 2:20 a.m. and asked to get it back, police said.
Without stating they were police, officers agreed to meet him at 3:30 a.m. at a Cub Foods at 2139 Old Hudson Road.
Police arrived in an unmarked car and met Hanson. When he discovered it was police, he fled the scene, officials said.
Police arrested Hanson after he eventually pulled over.
At the time of his arrest, Hanson was also facing two felony warrants: one offering a forged check and another for counterfeiting fraud, officials said.
If Hanson is convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and/or a $17,500 fine.