Dollar Store Robber Told Clerk He Had Gun, Returned To Shop Days After Crime: Aurora Police

AURORA, IL — A 25-year-old Aurora man is facing two felonies after Aurora police said he robbed a Family Dollar store on Oct. 18 while implying he had a gun.

Officers were dispatched at about 7:22 p.m. to the dollar store at 890 N. Lake St. for a report of an aggravated robbery. A man approached an employee at the cash register, claimed he had a firearm, and demanded the staff member open the register, according to police.

The suspect then stole about $427 from the register before fleeing on foot, police said.

Surveillance footage showed that, days after the incident, on Oct. 23, a man believed to have been involved in the robbery returned to the store, police said.

Police used the shop's surveillance footage and canvassed the area to identify Thomas Johnson as the suspect in the robbery.

The Kane County State's Attorney's Office filed criminal charges Oct. 27 against Johnson and issued a warrant for his arrest.

Three days later, members of the U.S. Marshals Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, including an Aurora Police detective assigned to the task force, found Johnson at his apartment in the 800 block of North Lake Street, just down the street from the Family Dollar. He was taken into custody.

Johnson faces one count of aggravated robbery, indicating armed with a firearm, and one count of robbery.

He remains in custody at the Kane County jail after a judge ordered him detained. His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 18.