A 19-year-old St. Cloud man is behind bars after what police describe as a tense convenience-store robbery in which a worker was threatened, punched and robbed of cigarettes before the suspect bolted from the scene.
Investigators say the man grabbed packs of cigarettes from the counter, warned the clerk he had a gun and then hit the employee before running out of the store. Officers later tracked him down in south St. Cloud and arrested him after a brief chase on foot. He is being held on an outstanding Hennepin County warrant, along with newly filed felony robbery counts.
What police allege
According to the criminal complaint in Stearns County District Court, the confrontation unfolded just before 2:30 p.m. Thursday inside a business in the 1700 block of 7th Street South. The complaint states the suspect pulled a gun and told the employee, "I have a gun. Do you want to die? This is a real gun, not a fake gun," then punched the worker in the ear, as reported by KNSI.
Arrest and booking
St. Cloud police say officers spotted the suspect around 3:45 a.m. near the 1000 block of 9th Avenue South. When they moved in to arrest him, he took off running but was caught shortly afterward.
The Stearns County jail roster lists Marqies Reed-Taylor, 19, as booked on July 25 and held on the Hennepin County warrant, along with the new felony robbery counts tied to the convenience-store incident.
Charges and next steps
Court records referenced in local reporting indicate Reed-Taylor was already wanted in Hennepin County on a first-degree assault warrant before the alleged robbery, and he now faces additional felony robbery allegations stemming from the 7th Street South case. Those remain allegations that prosecutors must prove in court, and it will be up to the Stearns County District Court to address arraignment, bail, and any future filings, as reported by KNSI.
