When the employee didn’t comply, King allegedly repeated “give me the money” a second time, louder and angrier. The employee said he still didn’t believe him, so he told him “show me the gun.”

King allegedly pulled what appeared to be a black handgun out of his sweatshirt pocket and pointed it at him. The employee estimated he gave King about $500 from the till. King then told him to walk to the back of the store. When the employee heard the doorbell ding signaling the man’s exit, he ran to the front of the store to try to identify a license plate number. He saw a silver Chevrolet sedan speeding up Orange Street toward Broad Street.

A witness, who was standing in the parking lot looking at the trains, reported the suspect got into a silver or gray older sedan, backed out hurriedly almost hitting a parked car, and sped up Orange Street.

Police were able to obtain video surveillance from area businesses that showed the sedan drive around an SUV waiting at the red light at Broad and Cherry streets, run a red light and head over the bridge into Minnesota.

At 1 a.m. March 26, Scott County (Minn.) deputies contacted Prescott police regarding an armed robbery that had occurred at an Elko New Market liquor store at 8:30 p.m. March 25. The suspect and vehicle in that robbery matched the description of the Prescott robbery suspect.

Around 1:30 p.m. March 26, Hudson police responded to a panic alarm activation at Royal Credit Union (2501 Hanley Road). Upon arrival, police made contact with two armored vehicle guards who were working on the drive-through ATM. They were unaware of the attempted robbery, but said they saw a man running to a silver Impala parked on Pearson Drive.

Once inside, the teller who had contact with the suspect, described as a white male wearing all black clothing, mask and gloves, said no other customers were in the bank when he came in. He allegedly handed her a handwritten note on notebook paper that advised her not to say anything and to give him all the 20s, 50s and 100s. The teller said more was written on the note, but she did not read it all. The man then told her not to push a button or touch anything.

She told the man she did not have access to cash and showed him her cash drawer, which only contained coins. She took it out to give to him, but he left without it, grabbing the note as he fled.

Another bank employee, who was finishing her break when the man came in, saw the exchange and pushed a silent panic alarm located out of the suspect’s vision range. Once he left, they saw the man get into a silver Chevy Impala parked facing westbound on Pearson Drive, after a car nearly struck him as he crossed the road. In both the Hudson and Prescott incidents, witnesses identified the vehicle as having Minnesota plates.

Area law enforcement were informed to be on the lookout for the vehicle. At about 1:53 p.m., a River Falls police officer located the silver Impala pulling into the River Falls McDonald’s parking lot. Two males were in the vehicle. Police identified King as the driver. The passenger, identified as an 18-year-old Lakeville, Minn. man, cooperated with police and told them his account of the day.

He said King texted him about going to a casino and picked him up in Lakeville around 11:30 a.m. They allegedly stopped at a Lakeville Wendy’s for food, then some convenience stores for scratch-off tickets. After riding around for a while, they went to a Cabela’s where King bought some airsoft pistols.

After crossing the bridge from Minnesota to Hudson, the passenger said they drove around before stopping near a car dealership, where King allegedly got out of the car, walked to the left and entered a business. The passenger said King came back a few minutes later and took off in such a hurry that he was thrown back in his seat. He said they ended up in River Falls, where he and King saw an unmarked police car following them with another police car behind that. The passenger denied any knowledge of or involvement in the robberies. Police released him pending further investigation.

King was booked into the St. Croix County Jail. He is scheduled to appear at a pre-trial conference in St. Croix County Circuit Court at 1 p.m. May 4. An initial appearance in Pierce County Circuit Court is set for 9:30 a.m. May 10.