"Great tips" from the public are being credited with the arrest early Tuesday of a 24-year-old man accused of using a mace-like spray to overwhelm and rob a 61-year-old bank customer at an ATM over the weekend in Andover.
The incident happened just after 4 p.m. Saturday inside the U.S. Bank on Bunker Lake Boulevard NW., just east of Round Lake Boulevard.
A security photo of the suspect with the spray in his hand and a finger on the pump as he confronted his victim was widely distributed by the Anoka County Sheriff's Office.
"Due largely to information from people who came forward [Monday]," the attacker was arrested about 12:45 a.m., the Sheriff's Office said in a statement. The suspect, who lives a little more than a mile from the bank, remains jailed pending charges.
Sheriff James Stuart said, "I greatly appreciate the support of our citizens who provided great tips in order that we could make a timely arrest of this suspect and make our community a safer place again."
The victim told deputies he was using the ATM inside the bank's vestibule when the man approached, sprayed him in the face with an aerosol irritant and demanded money. The ATM patron fought back briefly, then relinquished the money after again being sprayed in the face.
Paul Walsh
