A 21-year-old Richfield man was arrested Monday for a Saturday robbery of a Richfield service station. A heroin kit was among evidence recovered. According to a Sheriff’s Department news release, at about 8 p.m. a man wearing a ski mask walked into Lake Five Service at highways 164 and Q, brandished a handgun and demanded cash from the clerk. The suspect reached over the counter, cleaned out the register and fled on foot.
A drug detection dog was sent and alerted to the presence of drugs. The man was arrested and a heroin drug kit and evidence of the armed robbery was found in his car.
The man is in Washington County Jail on charges of armed robbery, two counts of bail jumping and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Sheriff’s Department Lt. Martin Schulteis said he is not connected to the Lake Five Service robbery in January, but his connection to other recent gas station robberies is uncertain.
“In this case the clerk was not the most cooperative,” Schulteis said. “I’d hate to have someone hurt. Be as cooperative as you can. It’s not worth risking your life over a couple hundred dollars.”
There were five service station robberies in the past few months: Oct. 20 at Romie’s Service, Allenton; Dec. 11 at Sai Mart, Allenton; Dec. 23 at Village Mart, Jackson; Jan. 15 and Saturday at Lake Service Station, Richfield.