St. Charles man held without bail after suburban Dollar Store robbery
WARRENVILLE, Ill. - A St. Charles man accused of robbing a suburban Dollar Store and who has seven active failure to appear warrants was denied pre-trial release.
What we know:
Emmanuel Herrera-Mendez, 31, appeared in court Thursday morning, charged with one count of aggravated robbery, a Class 1 felony, according to the DuPage County State’s Attorney.
Pictured is Emmanuel Herrera-Mendez, 31.
The state filed motions to revoke pretrial release in his other cases, which will be heard Friday.
On Feb. 19, a masked person, identified as Herrera-Mendez, entered Dollar Store Plus at 2S251 IL Route 59 in Warrenville.
He reportedly went into the shoe section, indicating he was going to purchase shoes. The victim, who was behind the register at the time, approached Herrera-Mendez and asked if he needed help.
Herrera-Mendez then turned toward the clerk with his left hand in his jacket pocket, implying he had a weapon. He demanded she give him all the money she had, prosecutors allege.
He then followed the clerk to the registers. As she was opening them, Herrera-Mendez threatened to kill her if she didn’t give him the money, the state’s attorney said.
Herrera-Mendez took the money and fled before police arrived.
The clerk called 911, and police found Herrera-Mendez at a nearby apartment complex about four to five minutes later.
Officers searched him and found $221.10 in his jacket pocket, a vial with narcotic residue, and identification and credit cards belonging to other individuals, prosecutors said.
Further investigation revealed he had seven active failure-to-appear arrest warrants.
What they're saying:
"It is alleged that Mr. Herrera-Mendez threatened to kill an innocent woman who was just trying to make an honest living and then robbed the Warrenville Dollar Store Plus of more than $200," DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said. "This type of brazen behavior will not be tolerated in DuPage County. What I find particularly disturbing about this case is that at the time of his arrest, Mr. Herrera-Mendez had seven outstanding arrest warrants for failing to appear in court in seven different cases. Thanks to the outstanding efforts of the Warrenville Police Department, Mr. Herrera-Mendez was quickly located and apprehended a short time later. I also thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Nicholas Covert and Anna Derkacz for their efforts in securing charges against Mr. Herrera-Mendez."
"The Warrenville Police Department is sworn to protect everyone who resides, works, and passes through our jurisdiction," Warrenville Chief of Police Sam Bonilla said. "No person should feel unsafe within our community and we will do everything in our power to arrest and charge those that violate that feeling of safety and security. Herrera-Mendez should not have been on our streets, but I want to commend my officers and detectives for doing great police work and putting this criminal where he belongs. I also want to thank State’s Attorney Bob Berlin and his staff for their support and collaboration in filing the appropriate charges."
What's next:
Herrera-Mendez is set to appear in court on March 17.