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An Arizona Shake Shack employee is facing charges after allegedly robbing his own restaurant at gunpoint, locking two co-workers in a walk-in cooler and then returning to work in uniform just two days later.
Keondre Simmons, 33, allegedly called out of work at the Shake Shack at Kierland Commons in Phoenix around midnight on Aug. 3 before showing up at the restaurant later that morning to commit the robbery, according to court documents reviewed by FOX 10 Phoenix.
Investigators responding to the armed robbery learned that an employee opened a rear delivery door after hearing a bell and believing a scheduled delivery had arrived.
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“[The employee] opened the door after hearing the delivery bell, believing a scheduled delivery had arrived,” court documents state.
“When the door opened, the suspect pointed a firearm at [the employee], ordered him inside, and escorted him at gunpoint toward the walk-in cooler. The suspect forced [the employee] inside and locked the cooler door.”
Police said the suspect then forced the on-duty manager into the office and ordered him to open the store’s safe.
“[The on-duty manager] unlocked the safe and, under threat of firearm, removed approximately $2,800 in mixed denominations and placed it into a black gun case-style container the suspect carried,” police wrote. “The suspect subsequently forced [the on-duty manager] into the walk-in cooler with [the employee], and successfully locked the door.”
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Investigators said both victims eventually managed to escape the cooler, but the suspect returned moments later, escorted them to the office and ordered them to kneel at gunpoint.
“The suspect took both victims’ cellphones and the office landline, then destroyed them by throwing them into a sink filled with water. The suspect then exited the business through the rear delivery door,” police wrote.
Investigators later identified Simmons as the suspect, according to the court documents.
Two days after the robbery, Simmons allegedly returned to the Shake Shack wearing his work uniform, where police arrested him.
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Simmons later told investigators that he “discarded the clothing worn during the incident, and a firearm is inside his residence,” according to court documents.
Simmons faces charges of armed robbery, aggravated assault and kidnapping.
He is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 25.
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