Two charged in robbery of employee’s keys

Two Twin Cities residents have been charged with simple robbery (aid and abet) after they allegedly stole a set of employee’s keys during the early morning hours of Jan. 17. That robbery also led to other charges being filed against the pair.

According to the identical criminal complaints, police were called Jan. 17 to Walmart in Hastings on the report that a man had just stolen a set keys from an employee. The keys are used to unlock the case that contains expensive electronic merchandise. The suspect was last seen running out of the store through the fire exit on the east side of the building.

Officers talked to a store clerk who indicated that she had been helping a customer when she was approached by a man who ended up grabbing the keys from her hand.

Another store employee observed the suspect flee the store. A third observed the suspect get into a brown Cadillac, which had out-of-state license plates.

The description of the suspect and the vehicle was aired and two Inver Grove Heights officers completed a traffic stop on the suspect vehicle on Highway 52 near Interstate 494. The passenger was identified as Victor Tombekaie Doe, age 20, of Plymouth. The driver had no identification, but gave a name and birthday which came back as unlisted on the squad computer.

Subsequently, the keys taken from the store employee were found in the passenger side door pocket. A walkie-talkie radio, also stolen from the store, was found under the seat. Identification for Devante Boutee Johnson, age 19 of Brooklyn Park, was found inside the glove compartment.

The suspects were first taken back to the store, where the store employees identified the suspects they had seen earlier. They were then transported to the Hastings Police Department. Each gave a statement.

Doe said he had borrowed the car from a friend’s without the friend’s permission. The owner lived in North Dakota. Doe said he did not grab the keys from the clerk, rather he picked them up after she dropped them. He said someone had offered to pay him between $300 and $400 for the key and was aware it opened the electronics case. He admitted he took the radio from the store.

Doe and Johnson were charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle (felony), and assault in the fifth degree. Doe was also charged with driving after suspension and Johnson was charged with providing a false name to an officer and driving without a license.

Tags: crime and courts, news, hastings, minnesota, spiral