Charges Filed in St. Cloud SuperAmerica Robbery

FOLEY -- Charges have been filed against an 18-year-old man believed to be involved of the SuperAmerica store robbery in St. Cloud Saturday night.

Jacob Swanstrom has been charged in Benton County District court with first degree aggravated robbery and second degree assault. Swanstrom has no permanent address.

Court records show two men entered the store at 600 Highway 10 South at about 10:00 p.m. Saturday and waited for a customer to leave. One of the men pulled out a knife, went behind the counter and held the knife to the female cashier's throat. They took money and a Butterfinger candy bar then left.

A police officer was driving by the area at the time and saw a man run past him. The officer immediately went into the store and learned it had just been robbed. He began looking for the suspect, but was unable to find him.

The officer had earlier spotted a parked truck with North Dakota license plate idling nearby and a person behind the wheel.

Meanwhile, a security officer at a nearby apartment building notified officers that a man was lying down near a dumpster. Police responded and found Swanstrom. He was wearing a bandana and sweatshirt matching the description of one of the robbers. They also found a black-handled folding knife and Butterfinger candy bar.

The next day, officers stopped the truck with the North Dakota plates and learned it had been stolen out of that state. A juvenile boy was in the passenger seat and allegedly told investigators he was with Swanstrom when they committed the SuperAmerica robbery.