17-year-old charged in armed robbery of Lake Station store

A 17-year-old has been charged in Lake Superior Court with armed robbery of a Lake Station store.

Jacques Darcell Brannon, 17, of 1726 E. 19th Court, was charged with the Level 3 felony in the robbery last week of the Dollar Store, 2828 Central Ave.

The manager told police at about 7:40 p.m. on Jan. 19, a man grabbed him and forced him to the counter at the store as a second person wearing a black ski mask and carrying a revolver told him he had “one chance” to open the safe. After three tries, the manager opened the safe and stepped back as the two individuals pulled out a cash register drawer and removed the money from it. They also took sealed bank deposit bags.

A customer who was entering the store as the individuals drove away in a Blazer-type SUV called 911.

An officer on his way to the robbery call passed the SUV that matched the description and turned around to follow it. When he activated his emergency lights, the Blazer speeded up to nearly 100 mph in a residential area, where the driver lost control and crashed in the front yard of an unoccupied home. The driver and passenger both ran into a wooded area.

Additional officers and two police dogs joined in the search and located Brannon, who had a bank deposit bag containing $1,678 in cash and a bank deposit slip for Dollar General, the probable cause affidavit states. He also had $181 in cash and a check written to the store, records state.

Inside the SUV were two more bank deposit bags, a black handgun and black ski mask.

The charge is punishable by three to 16 years.