‘Grinch’ may be spending Christmas in jail cell
Judge Joseph Marx orders suspect held without bail.
BOYNTON BEACH — “The Grinch” may be spending the holidays in the Palm Beach County Jail.
Francis Keller, so dubbed by Boynton Beach police after he was arrested twice in two days last week, will be held without bail while he awaits his next court date, Judge Joseph Marx ruled Tuesday.
Keller, 56, was arrested Friday night after he tried to steal packages from a local post office. Hours after he was released in that case, Keller was arrested again after he allegedly robbed a man at gun point then tried to carjack a vehicle filled with teenagers outside a fast-food restaurant.
Marx re vo ke d Ke l l e r ’s $1,000 bond in the post office burglary and ordered that he be held without bond in the incident.
Keller was arrested Saturday after he allegedly robbed at gunpoint an employee of the Sonic Drive-in on Win- chester Park Boulevard of $80. The weapon later was found to be an unloaded pellet gun.
Before robbing the fastf o o d e m p l o y e e , Ke l l e r hugged the victim and asked if he was a “church-going man.” Keller then asked for money and the victim said he didn’t have any.
“Give me the money or I will blow your head off,” Keller replied, according to the report.
After taking the victim’s money, Keller approached a group of teenagers in a car and pointed the gun at them while demanding they “get out of the vehicle.”
Keller ran off when one of the teenagers called 911.
Af t er he was a r re s t ed, Keller said: “This was just because of breaking into the post office last night.”
Keller, a former U.S. Postal Service worker, was found by police Friday night inside the branch office at North Seacrest and Boynton Beach boulevards. They reported he was intoxicated and rummaging through packages with plans to sell any valuables he found for crack cocaine.
Keller was released from jail just after 3:15 p.m. Saturday, according to court records. Within less than 12 hours, Keller was being re-booked into jail on armed robber y a nd c a r- j a c k i ng charges.