Police charge man in robbery of two casinos
Sioux Falls SD December 28, 2022
A man accused of a series of casino robberies was arrested on Thursday evening, according to Sioux Falls police.
The robberies started Dec. 19 at Big Al’s Casino located at 4700 E. Arrowhead Parkway around 8 a.m., according to Sam Clemens, a spokesperson for the Sioux Falls Police Department.
The suspect entered the casino, threatened to shoot those inside and stole an undisclosed amount of money, Clemens said. The casino was able to use security footage to get a description of the suspect’s vehicle.
The second robbery occurred Thursday morning around 9:30 at Joker’s Casino located at the 5500 block of N. Cliff Ave., Clemens said. The suspect made similar threats, but a clerk was able to hit an alarm to call law enforcement. The suspect then fled.
The vehicle description matched the earlier robbery, the police spokesperson said. While law enforcement was trying to identify the vehicle, pictures of it were circulating among the casino community.
On Thursday evening, around 11:30, a casino employee located at the 500 block of Valley View Road called 911 to report the suspect was sitting in a parked car matching a vehicle description tied to the robberies, according to Clemens.
The suspect fled in the vehicle when police arrived before crashing the vehicle and running on foot, Clemens said. He was located at an apartment complex near 5500 W. Christopher Place and taken into custody without incident.
The suspect is in jail without bond on multiple counts of First-degree Robbery, Aggravated Eluding and False Reporting, Clemens said.
