SAVAGE, Minn. (WCCO) – A 34-year-old Bloomington man is accused of robbing a woman at gunpoint, then using her credit card to get gas, according to charges filed Friday in Scott County Court.
Tony Antoine Benjamin was charged with first-degree aggravated robbery in connection with the incident.
According to a criminal complaint, Savage Police were dispatched to a silent alarm at 5:45 p.m. on Dec. 22 at the Mediacom building on Huntington Avenue. When authorities arrived, they spoke with a female store employee who appeared to be in a state of shock after the robbery.
She told police that at about 4:50 p.m., a black man entered the business and got behind the counter very quickly. The man told her it was a robbery and that if she wanted to live, she better not move, the complaint states.
The man took money out of the till, took the victim’s purse, cell phone and then left the scene. Authorities later pinged the victim’s cell phone and traced it to a gas station in Burnsville. The woman contacted her debit card company and learned that the card had been used for a $48.29 transaction at the Super America in Burnsville.
Surveillance video from the gas station led police to a dumpster there, where they found the victim’s purse, cell phone, wallet, driver’s license and other paperwork, according to the complaint.
The victim later identified the robber as Benjamin. He was arrested and booked into the Scott County Jail on Tuesday. It is also believed Benjamin may be responsible for the armed robbery at Southdale Mall earlier this month.
If convicted for the Savage armed robbery, Benjamin faces up to 20 years in prison and a $35,000 fine.
