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Incident Report for Case #2018-487255

Incident Type Robbery

Incident Date 12/17/2018 - 7:26 PM

Address 100 State St

Arrested Melvin F. Bogus, age 39, no permanent address

Bogus was arrested for second degree reckless endangerment, theft, possession of firearm by felon, possession of cocaine and bail jumping.

Victim(s) Male, age 21, Black Earth

Update The victim said he and a buddy were just "hanging out." His friend was not armed, but he was. In fact, he was carrying two handguns, a long gun, and a machete type knife in a sheath this past Monday night.







His friend would later tell police that the victim – a gun advocate – was wanting to make a statement about the right to bear arms, and had been on busy State St. a couple of times practicing "open carry." The friend also admitted another goal – for both of them - was to "get girls' (phone) numbers."



The MPD had gotten calls from people regarding an armed man, walking State Street, but he was breaking no laws, and was not contacted. That was until he, himself, called 911.







Another man, who has no permanent home, and is known to downtown patrol officers, had confronted the victim saying something similar to: "Why you wanna kill people." The gunman responded saying he was armed because it was his right, and it was for protection.







It was around this time that the suspect closed distance between he and the victim. He grabbed and yanked a holstered handgun from the victim's body. The suspect pointed the loaded weapon at the victim, and the victim – in turn – pulled his long gun and pointed it at the suspect. It was a fluid, tense and quick standoff.







It ended with the suspect running off, still in possession of the victim's handgun. Officers would later locate him. They recovered the stolen handgun and took the suspect into custody on a number of tentative charges.







Meanwhile, one responding officer, who is also a father, counseled the emotional victim about what had just happened:



"I again told (him) that I understood his desire to exercise his rights, but that with the events that happen around the world, actions like his cause concern and have a tendency to frighten people. I explained that people do not know what his intention is when he comes to a crowded area such as State Street with numerous weapons visible, including this long type shotgun and a large knife." The officer said the victim seemed to understand this. "And again I told him that I was very happy that he hadn't been shot and killed with his own weapon and that he had not taken anyone's life or injured anyone else," the officer explained.



















Last updated 12/19/2018 at 12:21 PM by PIO Joel Despain