Man Threatens To Kill Clerk While Robbing Dollar Store: Prosecutors

WARRENVILLE, IL — A St. Charles man is accused of threatening to kill a clerk and robbing the Dollar Store Plus in Warrenville.

Emmanuel Herrera-Mendez, 31, of the 100 block of Tyler Road, was charged with aggravated robbery in connection with Wednesday's incident. At the time of Herrera-Mendez's arrest, police say he had seven outstanding arrest warrants for failing to appear in court.

Police were called to the store at 2S521 Route 59 around 12 p.m. for a report that a masked man robbed the store. Herrera-Mendez is accused of pretending to have a weapon in the left pocket of his coat when he demanded that the store clerk give him all the money in the register. He is accused of threatening to kill her, prosecutors said.

Herrera-Mendez took the cash from the register when the clerk opened it, and then he fled, according to police.

Officers located Herrera-Mendez at an apartment complex near the store and took him into custody. Police reported that they searched Herrera-Mendez and found a "vial with narcotic residue," along with $221.10 in cash.

"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 in a statement.

He added, “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."

Herrera-Mendez is being held at DuPage County Jail and is set to appear in court on March 17.