Police arrest South Dakota prison escapee suspected in MN bank robberies
A man suspected of robbing three Twin Cities banks after escaping from prison in South Dakota is now in custody.
Clinton Barry Eldeen, 46, was arrested early Wednesday morning in Prior Lake, the Richfield police department said on Facebook. He was arrested at the Little 6 Casino after security recognized him, FOX 9 reports.
He is suspected of robbing two banks in Richfield on Tuesday, as well as a bank in Roseville on Saturday.
A warrant had been issued for Eldeen's arrest both for escaping from prison and for robbing the bank in Roseville, police said. He's been booked into the Ramsey County Jail under that warrant, the jail roster notes.
Two-state crime spree
Police say Eldeen began a two-state crime spree Friday when he walked out of a the minimum security wing of the South Dakota state prison in Sioux Falls around 6:45 p.m. Friday, according to the South Dakota Department of Corrections.
He is suspected of stealing a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am from a Pizza Hut delivery person in Sioux Falls a few hours later, then driving to Faribault, where he stole license plates from a car on display at an auto dealership.
Authorities say Eldeen stopped to fill up at a Super America gas station on Interstate 35 in Lakeville at 3 a.m. Saturday, and then is accused of driving off without paying.
He is suspected of robbing the Bremer Bank on Highway B2 in Roseville around 9:40 a.m. Saturday, and driving off in the stolen vehicle. The car was found a few minutes later abandoned at a nearby parking lot.
Surveillance photos from the gas station and the bank indicate the same man is responsible for both those crimes, authorities say.
He is suspected of robbing two Richfield banks Tuesday. Police from Richfield and Bloomington chased the suspect involved with the robberies, but lost track of him, Richfield police wrote on Facebook. Eldeen has not been charged in connection with those incidents.
