Police: Robber in wheelchair arrested after asking to be pushed outside

Shelly Conlon | Sioux Falls Argus Leader

Police say a man in a wheelchair tried to rob the local Golden Coin Casino on Thursday afternoon at the corner of Russell Street and Kiwanas Avenue, until a customer intervened.

James Michael Eitreim, a 60-year-old Sioux Falls man, was arrested on charges of second degree robbery after allegedly telling a clerk at the casino he had a handgun and wanted cash but did not show or display a weapon.

A nearby customer noticed the clerk acting oddly, and realized something was off. The patron walked over to get something from the clerk and mentioned to Eitreim that he was in the way, Sioux Falls police spokesman Sam Clemens said.

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"He asked for a drink or something like that, and said to the suspect, 'Can I get past you or can I move you?'" Clemens said. "The suspect said, 'You can push me outside.'

Once Eitreim was outside, those inside locked the door, so he couldn't go back in, Clemens said. Only afterward did the man who intervene know what happened, Clemens said.

"He thought there was something, just because he said he recognized the clerk had a serious look on her face," Clemens said.

When officers arrived, Eitreim did not have a gun with him or any other weapon, but the best advice someone could have in the middle of a situation like this would be to be a good witness, Clemens said.

"If someone is claiming to have a weapon, or they don't show a weapon, you really don't know what they would do with that weapon," Clemens said. "It's best just to be safe, look at the person — if there's markings on their shoes, their clothes, on a hat, if they get into some kind of vehicle — all those little kinds of pieces add up."