Plymouth Man Charged with Robbery, Car Theft

A Plymouth man has been charged with robbery and car theft after police say he snatched a set of keys from an employee in a Hastings store last week and fled with another man in a stolen car.

Victor Tombekai Doe, 20, of Plymouth is charged with felony robbery and felony car theft, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. He is also charged with two misdemeanors: fifth-degree assault and driving with a suspended license, which have maximum penalties of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Devante Boutee Johnson, 19, of Brooklyn Park was arrested in connection with the same incident. He is charged with robbery, car theft, fifth-degree assault and two other misdemeanor counts: giving false information to a police officer and driving without a license.

Both men remain in the Dakota County Jail on separate $80,000 bonds. Omnibus hearings in both cases are scheduled Feb. 14 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.

According to the criminal complaints, Hastings police were called to a store on Jan. 17 after employees reported that Doe had grabbed a set of keys from an employee while she was removing an iPod from a locked case to show a customer.

As the employee was opening the locked case, Doe snatched the keys, cutting her on the finger in the process, and ran from the store, the complaint says.

Another employee watched as Doe jumped into a brown Cadillac with out-of-state license plates. They told police that they last saw the car speeding west on Highway 55.

Hastings police put out a bulletin, and Inver Grove Heights police stopped the car on Highway 52 near Interstate 494. Doe provided his identification, but the driver gave police a name and date of birth that came back as unlisted on the squad-car computer, according to the complaint.

Police arrested the two men and searched the Cadillac, where they found the stolen keys and a two-way radio that had been stolen from the Hastings store. In the glove box, police found Johnson’s identification.

Officers brought Doe and Johnson back to the store, where employees identified them as the suspects.

Johnson told police that Doe had offered him money to help him steal the key from the store, and admitted giving Inver Grove Heights police a false name and date of birth, telling them that he thought he was providing his best friend’s name and date of birth, but he’d gotten it wrong, the complaint says.

Doe told police that his license was suspended and that he had borrowed the car from a friend in North Dakota without asking permission, according to the complaint. He said someone had offered to pay him between $300 and $400 to steal the key, which he knew would open up locked shelves containing newly released video games, and admitted to taking the two-way radio on his way out of the store, the complaint says.