Topeka man arrested in connection with robbery at Baskin Robbins
Lawrence Police arrested a Topeka man in connection with an armed robbery at the Baskin Robbins in the 700 block of Wakarusa. Enlarge video
Lawrence police arrested a 23-year-old Topeka man Friday afternoon on charges of aggravated robbery in connection with a reported armed robbery at the Baskin-Robbins ice cream store, 721 Wakarusa Drive.
The man was quickly found not far from the store after police canvassed the area.
A male employee called police about 12:25 p.m. The employee said a man came into the store with a handgun and demanded money. He left the store with an unknown amount of cash, police said. No one was injured.
Employees of nearby stores had no idea that a crime had occurred.
Lisa Chieu, who works in a nail salon next door, said that they heard the sound of what must have been the store's alarm going off, but dismissed it as part of normal business.
"We decided it was the milk-shake machine," she said.
This is at least the third armed robbery in Lawrence in the past two weeks. Two Lawrence men were taken into custody earlier this month in connection with a March 31 armed robbery of the Kwik Shop at 845 Miss. Police also are investigating an April 1 armed robbery of the Dollar General, 1811 W. Sixth St.
Police department spokeswoman Kim Murphree said it was too early to say whether this man may be connected to previous crimes.
"In the course of the investigation, we will consider whether he could be involved in other recent aggravated robberies," she said.
Comments
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oldgoof (anonymous) says…
robbing an ice cream store on a day with a winter storm warning..... did someone say Topeka?
ljreader (anonymous) says…
What a chilling account.
Yet, we're left with so many questions.
Did the arresting officer tell the suspect to "Freeze"?
Did the robber take the stolen cash in a cup or a cone?
What's the scoop?
justtired (anonymous) says…
a baskin robbins is always getting robbed in Topeka--I wish they would keep their crimes in their own town.
ljreader (anonymous) says…
Lisa Chieu, who works in a nail salon next door, said that they heard the sound of what must have been the store's alarm going off, but dismissed it as part of normal business.
"We decided it was the milk-shake machine," she said.
________________________________
Yeah, our blender sounds like a tornado siren, so we're careful not to make smoothies under cloudy skies.
classclown (Class Clown) says…
Will this be classified as a cold case?
KansasKel (anonymous) says…
I'll have a Cappu-cha-ching!-o Blast!
smitty (anonymous) says…
Yesterday when this story appeared I clicked on the LPD community information link. In the brief it stated that the police were able to find the suspect by following the drips of ice cream. Sooo funny.
ljreader (anonymous) says…
I was suprised to see this crime occurred on a Friday. Seems more like something that would have happened on a sundae.
SpiritTat (anonymous) says…
Great comments, folks lol love the puns
ljreader (anonymous) says…
What kind of a dip robs an ice cream store on a day there was a winter storm warning issued? We didn't get the snow we were expecting, but there were some "sprinkles"- still, not good for business in an ice cream store.
The heck of it is, this guy will probably only serve soft time for this. He will probably require therapy, as the experience of being arrested will leave him will an ice cream social anxiety disorder.
caveatguy (anonymous) says…
...what a great thread...
lunacydetector (anonymous) says…
it's good the 'progressives' didn't win the past election - in a few days, we'd be reading about an apology letter being sent to topeka, apologizing about the arrest of one of their locals by our police.
ljreader (anonymous) says…
I've heard that Topekan criminals travel to Lawrence to commit crimes because they're afraid if they do it in Topeka, they'll get Capitol punishment.
ljreader (anonymous) says…
flamingdragon, I'd say it's a sher-bet this character is nuttier than a triple scoop of pistachio almond.
Next time he orders at a Baskin Robbins, I hope he remembers "money" isn't one of the 31 flavors.
Newell_Post (anonymous) says…
He just misunderstood the whole thing about "hand packing."
ljreader (anonymous) says…
Good point, N_P- Before (or after) we jump to any conclusions here, we should remember that this perp is innocent until proven guilty.
It could be, he's a "new American" and thought he was asking for cookie dough.
This could all be one big misunderstanding. That's all I'm saying.
If this is the case, I'll be praline for him.
Pywacket (anonymous) says…
You guys were in rare form all day.
devilfish (anonymous) says…
The robbers shouldn't go to Lawrence. The Baskin Robbins in Topeka has been robbed 5 times in 3 months. They try it once in Lawrence and get caught? Stay in Topeka and make a creer of it? Based on the lack of concern or any investigative work on the Topeka PD side of things I am surprised they would go outside our crime infested city. But maybe they thought all cities operate as poorly as Topeka.