Man Charged with Swindling Richfield Convenience Store—Where He Worked

An Eagan man has been charged with swindling a Richfield store, 7720 Nicollet Ave. S., where he worked as a clerk.

David Oliver Smith, 22, is charged with felony theft by swindle, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Police responded to the store on a report of a robbery just before 4 a.m. April 2.

According to the criminal complaint, compiled by Det. Joseph Edwards, Smith told police that a man wearing a long-sleeved, thermal-style shirt had come into the store and demanded money from the register. He said the man took the money, told Smith to turn around and then left the store.

Edwards' account stated that Smith appeared “very agitated and nervous” while he spoke to the police and asked officers several times if he could leave the store. Smith told police that he had contacted the store manager, and she was on her way to the store. Soon after Smith left in a Pontiac Grand Am.

When the manager arrived, police asked her to check the cash register drawer to determine how much money was missing. According to the complaint, she told officers that the drawer shouldn’t contain more than $200, because employees are instructed not to keep more than that in the drawer and to make frequent cash drops into the safe during their shifts. After checking the register, the manager told police cash drops had not been made and $2,532 was missing.

Police reviewed surveillance video and saw a man enter the store earlier in Smith’s shift and approach the counter. The video showed Smith opening the cash register and handing money to the man, who then left the store.

Police found Smith’s unoccupied car elsewhere in Richfield, with a long-sleeved thermal-style shirt lying on the passenger seat. Smith later returned to the store. Police then learned that more than $3,600 worth of money orders were missing from the store.

According to the complaint, officers reviewed the surveillance video again and saw Smith processing the money orders, but they were unable to determine what he did with them. When police questioned Smith, he reportedly said he had thrown them in the trash, but wouldn’t say where.

Smith was taken into custody and later that day police executed a search warrant on his Eagan apartment, where they found the missing money orders totaling $3,750.

Smith is free on a $5,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled May 17 in Hennepin County District Court.