MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Police arrested four people on New Year’s Eve who were allegedly involved in an attempted armed robbery at a Roseville Quiznos earlier in the day, authorities said.
A North St. Paul police officer, who was working New Year’s Eve traffic safety, arrested 24-year-old Michael Luedtke around 9:30 p.m. Saturday. The officer arrested Luedtke, along with four others, on the 600 block of Robert Street in St. Paul.
Roseville authorities said Luedtke admitted to robbing a Roseville Quiznos, located on the 2000 block of Fairview Avenue North, around 11 a.m. Saturday.
According to robbery witnesses, Luedtke chased after a Quiznos employee after the employee ran in fear during the robbery. Luedtke then followed the employee outside the sandwich shop, where the employee had tripped and fallen. With a sawed-off shotgun in hand, Luedtke walked up to the employee, pointed the shotgun at him and said: “Boom.” After that display, Luedtke ran to a getaway car – a stolen 2010 Volkswagen Jetta, police said.
The getaway Jetta was stolen from a house in Maple Grove on Dec. 22, police said.
The other three arrested Saturday night were 19-year-old Alex Campbell, 23-year-old Sara Swart and 18-year-old Caci Palmer. Campbell is from St. Paul, Swart is from Bloomington and Palmer is from Medford.
In the Jetta, police said they found the sawed-off shotgun believed to have been used during the robbery.
All suspects were booked at the Ramsey County Law Enforcement Center. At the time of arrest, Luedtke was wanted for a parole violation stemming from a Hennepin County armed robbery in 2008. Police said Luedtke may also be responsible for robbing a Subway, located on the 1700 block of Lexington Avenue in Roseville, on Dec. 29.
Luedtke has not yet been charged, but he is being held on a Minnesota Department of Corrections warrant and a probable cause arrest, police said.
If charged for armed robbery, Luedtke could face up to 20 years in prison and/or a $35,000 fine.
