by Dennis Dalman
A 57-year-old St. Cloud man was arrested and jailed Aug. 25 after robbing several thousand dollars of pull-tab money from employees at the BP convenience store in Sartell.
The man, David Lee Smallwood, is alleged to have used a knife in a threatening manner during the course of the robbery, which occurred at 12:45 p.m.
The BP convenience gas-and-grocery store is located on First Ave. NE west of Country Manor and near the intersection of Benton Drive and the Sartell bridge.
Shortly after the robbery was reported, Sartell police officers were able to view camera footage from the story. The video indicated the suspect attempted to mask his identity and obscure the license plate on his vehicle. However, the police were able to determine the same vehicle and suspect had been at the same store just the day before. That allowed them to establish the suspect’s identity.
Information about the man was shared by Sartell police with other area law-enforcement agencies. The sharing of that information led Sauk Rapids police officers to locate the suspect in a Sauk Rapids convenience store while the man was in that store buying pull-tabs.
Police then took Smallwood into custody without incident and booked him into the Benton County Jail. He is expected to be charged with aggravated first-degree robbery.
