MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee man is charged in a pair of armed robberies – one from a restaurant, the other from a cellphone store – that happened at the end of December.
Prosecutors said 29-year-old Lamont Stallings denied robbing the restaurant, and claimed an unspecified co-actor “forced him” into the cellphone store robbery.
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Restaurant robbery | Dec. 27
Wauwatosa police were called for an armed robbery at a restaurant near 67th and North. According to a criminal complaint, an employee said a masked suspect handed over a note that said something to the effect of: “Don’t scream. Give me all the money or I’m gonna shoot.” The employee handed over all the cash in the register, and the suspect ran off.
The robbery was captured on surveillance. Court filings said it showed a red car pull up and seemingly park just out of view of the camera. Shortly after, the suspect walked into the frame from where the car would’ve parked, and ran back to the area where the car would’ve parked just after the robbery.
Suspect, later identified as Lamont Stallings, in restaurant robbery (Courtesy: MCDAO)
Cellphone store robbery | Dec. 30
Milwaukee police were called for an armed robbery at a T-Mobile store near 103rd and Silver Spring on the city’s northwest side. The complaint said a suspect handed over a note that read: “Don’t scream, I am armed, make it quick, give me 20 iPhones.” The suspect then showed a pistol.
According to court filings, an employee handed over “numerous” iPhones, each worth approximately $500, and the suspect loaded them into a duffle bag before he made the employee walk him out of the store.
The robbery was also captured on surveillance, and a nearby doorbell camera video showed the suspect – with the duffle bag in tow – walking toward a red car.
Court filings said one of the cellphones had a GPS tracking device. Officers used that GPS information to look for the suspect, leading them to the area of 76th and Brown Deer. There, officers saw a man matching the suspect’s description walk to a red car and place a duffle bag in the trunk.
The suspect drove off, per the complaint, and minutes later officers were notified that the phone’s GPS location was on the move. Officers continued to get updates on the device’s location and found the same car parked more than nine miles away near 27th and Burleigh. Officers saw the same suspect they saw near 76th and Brown Deer and took him into custody.
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In custody
Prosecutors said the suspect initially refused to identify himself, but a traffic citation issued to Stallings was found in the car. A previous booking photo further identified the man in custody as Stallings.
A search of the car located a pistol, the complaint states, as well as clothing that matched that worn by the suspect in the T-Mobile robbery. When he was arrested, investigators said Stallings was also wearing pants and shoes that were “an identical match” to the suspect in the restaurant robbery.
Suspect vehicle tied to robbery (Courtesy: MCDAO)
In the trunk of the car, the complaint states police found numerous cellphones that were confirmed as having been stolen from the T-Mobile near 103rd and Silver Spring.
Stallings denied involvement in the restaurant, per the complaint. In regard to the T-Mobile robbery, court filings said he told investigators a “co-actor forced him to do it with him, and force [sic] him to ride in the maroon Pontiac, change clothing with this unknown suspect before the robbery, and then change clothing back after the robbery.”
In all, Stallings is charged with two counts of armed robbery, one count of possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent and three counts of felony bail jumping. Stallings appeared in court on Jan. 4, and his bond was set at $50,000.