(KNOX/Valley News Live) –A 39-year-old man is facing two felony charges after police say he approached a bank employee in a parking lot and pointed a handgun at her. He was wearing a mask and he tried to force her to move to the passenger seat of her own vehicle before he fled into the nearby woods bordering the Pelican River.
Jose Gregorio Boller Pena was charged in Becker County District Court with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and felony threats of violence. The assault charge carries a maximum of seven years in prison. He is currently in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security in Texas.
According to a criminal complaint, the incident occurred on June 30 at around 12:19 p.m. A bank employee told police she was sitting in her vehicle during her lunch break when she heard rustling from nearby woods. A masked man appeared at her car door, pulled it open, covered her mouth with one hand, and pointed a handgun at her with the other. The woman screamed and a co-worker heard her. The suspect then fled.
The victim described the suspect as wearing all-black clothing, a ski mask, sunglasses, and black gloves with rubber grips. He also was carrying what appeared to be a duffel bag.
Investigators used surveillance footage and license plate reader data to link a gray 2011 Mazda 3 to the scene. The vehicle was captured on the FLOCK camera system entering Detroit Lakes around 10:13 a.m. and leaving around 12:20 p.m.
Records showed he had worked at a local dairy farm and had cashed a paycheck at Midwest Bank the morning of the incident.
Investigators tracked his vehicle and cell phone through Kansas and into Texas. Homeland Security Investigations officials and Houston law enforcement detained him on June 24. A backpack found in his vehicle revealed the dark clothing, a full face mask, and black gloves with gray rubber palms. These were consistent with the victim’s description, and a knife and duct tape were also found. Boller Pena denied it was his backpack but acknowledged he used the face mask because it was cold in Minnesota.
Boller Pena is subject to being deported from the United States
FOLLOW US FOR INSTANT UPDATES!
