A Cambridge man is still recovering after being sprayed with a chemical irritant while being robbed at an Andover bank ATM in mid-October.
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Arne Rosing, who has lived in Isanti since 1981 and in Cambridge the last 10 years, was heading to work at the Star Tribune in the mail room when he stopped at the U.S. Bank, located at 3445 Bunker Lake Blvd., around 4:10 p.m. Oct. 17.
Rosing walked into the vestibule to deposit three $50 bills and a check. He was depositing the check when he reached for his wallet to grab the three $50 bills. As he grabbed the bills a man approached him from behind, sprayed him in the eyes and tried to grab the cash. There was a brief tussle, but eventually Rosing gave up the cash and the suspect escaped on bicycle.
On Wednesday, Oct. 21, Kai Joseph Stellmach, 24, of Andover, was charged by the Anoka County Attorney’s Office with one felony count of first-degree aggravated robbery. Stellmach was caught on surveillance video, and images released by the sheriff’s office led to public tips that helped lead to Stellmach’s arrest.
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“The chemical irritant was sprayed about 2 inches from my face,” Rosing said last week. “When I tried to open my eyes, everything was about as black as a cave. My first breath was almost like a ‘choking’ breath from all the fumes. I couldn’t see and I couldn’t breathe but I was able to get out of the vestibule and forced my eyes open to call 911 from my cellphone.”
Rosing explained in the meantime, a family pulled into the parking lot and offered Rosing a bottle of water to flush out his eyes after learning what happened.
Rosing said officers with the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene within minutes, and in total, seven squad cars and an ambulance responded to the scene. After officers contacted U.S. Bank about the incident, the bank was able to provide surveillance footage and images that were then released to the public to help catch Stellmach.
Even though the vestibule was immediately closed following the robbery, Rosing said he was able to get back in to finish depositing his check and grab his bank card. After an hour after the robbery, Rosing was able to leave and continued to work.
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When he got home that night, he took a shower and said his face, neck, shoulder and cheeks were burning.
“I ran into the living room and asked my wife to get a fan to help me cool down,” Rosing said. “But the next morning, I took another shower and it reactivated everything.”
Rosing said he was further contacted by the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office and he explained he did wash the shirt he was wearing at the time of the robbery, but he still had the tissues and Kleenex he used to wipe his eyes after he was sprayed. During a search warrant of Stellmach’s Andover home, which is in the area of U.S. Bank, police found the sweatshirt along with jeans and a stocking hat similar to the one the suspect was seen wearing. Authorities also found a black canister containing a chemical irritant, according to the complaint.
Rosing was still having trouble with his eyes, so on Monday, Oct. 19, he went to the emergency room at Cambridge Medical Center. He explained he spent a half-day in the emergency room where his eyes were flushed with 9 liters of saline to help clear the chemical irritant.
“The nurse told me that was the most saline she’s ever had to use on a person at one time,” Rosing said. “I would also like to thank all the nurses in the emergency room at that time for their extra efforts and concern and my optometrist at Cambridge Medical Center.”
Rosing also extended thanks the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office for all their work in the investigation and the public who helped provide tips leading to Stellmach’s arrest.
As a result of the incident, Rosing estimates he lost 28 hours of work at the Star Tribune and 15 hours of work at Hobby Farms, where he is a contracted driver to pick up mail for the U.S. Postal Service.
“I’ve worked at the Star Tribune for 17 years and Hobby Farms for seven years and have never missed a day of work except for planned vacations,” Rosing said. “I’m now back to work and have made tremendous progress, but am still on eye drops.”
Rosing, who mentioned he’s been a U.S. Bank customer since the early 1970s, said nothing like this has ever happened to him before. Rosing, who lives in Cambridge with his wife, Dorothy, has two daughters and four granddaughters.
A Go Fund Me account has been set up online to help Rosing with loss of wages and medical expenses. If you wish to donate to the account, visit https://www.gofundme.com/arne-rosing.