A Stillwater bank robbery and bomb threat halted business for five hours Saturday in one of the Twin Cities' most popular tourist towns, shutting down the boutiques, restaurants and antique stores that were hoping to cash in on hundreds of tourists.
Instead, on a rare sunny Saturday, downtown streets remained empty, blocked off as bomb squads investigated a device that was eventually determined to pose no danger. That left places like Leo's Grill and Malt Shop's normally packed dining room empty, losing at least $1,000 in business, manager Naomi Wick said.
"It couldn't have happened on a worse day," she said as the malt shop tried to salvage some business by selling ice cream out aside window.
The FBI, Stillwater Police and Washington County Sheriff's Office shut down about six blocks from 9:30 a.m. until nearly 3 p.m. to investigate the bomb threat after a man who was a guest at the Lowell Inn went into the U.S. Bank off Chestnut Street, handed the bank employees a note demanding money and told them he had a bomb. According to police reports, he set a briefcase on the bank manager's desk and fled.
Within minutes, he was arrested trying to get into his pickup two blocks away outside No Neck Tony's bar. Stillwater resident Justin Johnsen saw police arrest the middle-aged man, who he said was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses outside a tan Ford Ranger.
"It's kind of crazy," Johnsen said. "This stuff doesn't happen here often."
Johnsen lives in a downtown condo three blocks from the bank and was on his way to withdraw some cash when he saw the arrest just before 10 a.m.
Police evacuated the area until they could determine that the device was fake. Stillwater Police Chief John Gannaway wouldn't elaborate on what was in the briefcase, but said "this isn't your run of the mill [crime]."
