A man has been charged in connection with the June 24, 2015, armed robbery at T & C Self-Serve gas station located along Highway 47 in Bradford.
Reed Alan Brown-Gmahl, 19, of Stanchfield was charged Feb. 25 before Judge James Dehn in Isanti County District Court in Cambridge with first-degree armed robbery. Bail was set at $50,000 without conditions or $25,000 with conditions.
Brown-Gmahl was also charged Dec. 23, 2015, in connection with a Dec. 21 armed robbery at Kline Oil in Braham.
According to the criminal complaint:
On June 24, 2015, at approximately 12:56 p.m., Isanti County law enforcement were dispatched to T & C Self- Serv regarding an armed robbery in progress. The complainant said a white male, wearing sunglasses, a multi-color knit cap with dread locks and a blue shirt had displayed a black handgun. The suspect fled the area in a tan Chevrolet Impala.
Investigator Rob Bowker viewed the store video surveillance footage. The suspect eventually walked to the cashier with a black semi-automatic handgun in his right hand. The suspect held the gun at waist height, and told the cashier to give him all of the money. The suspect took the drawer and left the store. The drawer contained approximately $250 in cash, $50 in checks and an unknown amount of coins.
After leaving the store, the suspect fled in the Impala, and officers were unable to locate the suspect.
On Dec. 1, 2015, at approximately 7:44 p.m., an armed robbery occurred at Mr. D’s BP Amoco in Mora. After exiting the bathroom, the suspect pulled what appears to be a 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun out of the right side of his jeans. The suspect pointed the shotgun at the gas station attendant and demanded money. The suspect concealed the gun in his pants, grabbed the money bag and left the store, fleeing on foot. Kanabec County law enforcement were unable to locate the suspect.
Because of the similarity between the Mr. D’s robbery in Mora, and the Kline Oil robbery in Braham, investigators from the Kanabec County Sheriff’s Department became involved in the investigation.
Kanabec County investigator Justin Frisch interviewed Brown-Gmahl’s father and grandfather, who both felt it was Brown-Gmahl who committed the robbery at T & C.
On Jan. 8, 2016, Bowker was called to the 39820 block of Palm Street Northwest, Stanchfield, where Brown-Gmahl resides. Brown-Gmahl’s girlfriend was shown a picture of the robbery suspect from T & C, and she said Brown-Gmahl used to have a hat with dreadlocks attached to it. The girlfriend said she lives approximately one-half mile from T & C, and Brown-Gmahl spent a lot of time at her home during the summer of 2015.
Investigator Bowker went to Brown-Gmahl’s room in the lower level of the house where he was shown two articles of clothing that were consistent with the clothing worn by the suspect during the robbery of T & C. Both items were collected as evidence.
Bowker was also shown an detached two-car garage on the property that contained an Impala matching the description in the T & C robbery. Bowker was told the vehicle was bought for Brown-Gmahl in June 2015. Bowker photographed the vehicle.
