DreamWarrior
01-02-2003, 09:03 AM
CLEAR LAKE - Authorities combed North Iowa on Wednesday, searching for a St. Paul man charged with robbery and kidnapping who spent the previous night in a Clear Lake hotel. The suspect, however, was southbound on a Jefferson bus.
Bethany, Mo., police arrested 54-year-old Richard Allen Benfield about 3:15 p.m. Wednesday outside a McDonald's restaurant.
"He's a dangerous man with a lengthy criminal record who needs to be taken off the streets before he hurts someone," said FBI Agent Paul McCabe.
Benfield allegedly robbed a West St. Paul store at gunpoint Monday night, threatening to kill anyone who did not cooperate.
As he left the robbery scene, a witness used her cell phone to call police, then followed Benfield for several blocks. She gave up the chase when the suspect allegedly stopped his car, pulled out a handgun and fired at her, West St. Paul Police Chief Terrence Cook said.
"Much of the credit for this arrest goes to the Clear Lake Police Department, especially the dispatcher and officers who blanketed the area with a description of the subject," McCabe said.
Clear Lake police were drawn into the case after Benfield reportedly kidnapped a man outside a West St. Paul nightclub Tuesday night, again at gunpoint, and forced the man to drive him to Clear Lake, stopping at the Best Western Holiday Motor Lodge, McCabe said.
Once in the room, Benfield allegedly tied the kidnap victim to a bed with plastic cable ties before going to sleep. The victim freed himself, fled the hotel and drove back to St. Paul before notifying police, Cook reported.
That gave Benfield enough time to slip away unnoticed.
"By the time we were notified this guy was supposed to be at the Holiday Motor Lodge, he was already gone," Clear Lake Police Chief Dan Jackson said. "We knew he checked in sometime after 2:30 p.m., and after his captive got away with the car we knew he was on foot."
As squad cars cruised and officers checked restaurants and trucks stops for any clue of the man, the dispatcher manned the phone lines.
A phone call to the Jefferson Bus depot at the Mason City Airport paid off.
Benfield was waiting to buy a bus ticket to Kansas City when Edwin Brecht, the Jefferson Lines depot manager, showed up for work at 6 a.m.
"It is kind of scary, now that I know why the investigators were looking for him," Brecht said after he learned Benfield was in custody. "Thank God! And I'm thankful there were not a lot of people on that bus."
Using the scheduled route, Brecht helped investigators track Benfield. At a southern Iowa stop they contacted the bus driver, informing him of the "armed and dangerous" cargo on board.
"The thing that made this guy stand out was his size and I remembered he was wearing a Pizza Hut hat," Brecht said. "But otherwise, I didn't think a thing about him - just another passenger."
Benfield, who spent 20 years in prison for multiple bank robberies, armed robberies, kidnapping, burglary, aggravated assault, auto theft and other crimes, is 6-foot-2 and weighs 280 to 300 pounds, Cook said, adding that he is a suspect in several other recent armed robberies in the Twin Cities.
Benfield faces charges of first degree burglary, second degree assault and kidnapping and was allegedly carrying a pellet gun pistol at the time of his arrest, McCabe said. "He was arrested without incident and we anticipate that he will be extradited back to West St. Paul to face the charges there."
"We got lucky," Jackson said. "And I'm glad, 'cause it doesn't sound like this guy was of a mind to go quietly."
Bethany, Mo., police arrested 54-year-old Richard Allen Benfield about 3:15 p.m. Wednesday outside a McDonald's restaurant.
"He's a dangerous man with a lengthy criminal record who needs to be taken off the streets before he hurts someone," said FBI Agent Paul McCabe.
Benfield allegedly robbed a West St. Paul store at gunpoint Monday night, threatening to kill anyone who did not cooperate.
As he left the robbery scene, a witness used her cell phone to call police, then followed Benfield for several blocks. She gave up the chase when the suspect allegedly stopped his car, pulled out a handgun and fired at her, West St. Paul Police Chief Terrence Cook said.
"Much of the credit for this arrest goes to the Clear Lake Police Department, especially the dispatcher and officers who blanketed the area with a description of the subject," McCabe said.
Clear Lake police were drawn into the case after Benfield reportedly kidnapped a man outside a West St. Paul nightclub Tuesday night, again at gunpoint, and forced the man to drive him to Clear Lake, stopping at the Best Western Holiday Motor Lodge, McCabe said.
Once in the room, Benfield allegedly tied the kidnap victim to a bed with plastic cable ties before going to sleep. The victim freed himself, fled the hotel and drove back to St. Paul before notifying police, Cook reported.
That gave Benfield enough time to slip away unnoticed.
"By the time we were notified this guy was supposed to be at the Holiday Motor Lodge, he was already gone," Clear Lake Police Chief Dan Jackson said. "We knew he checked in sometime after 2:30 p.m., and after his captive got away with the car we knew he was on foot."
As squad cars cruised and officers checked restaurants and trucks stops for any clue of the man, the dispatcher manned the phone lines.
A phone call to the Jefferson Bus depot at the Mason City Airport paid off.
Benfield was waiting to buy a bus ticket to Kansas City when Edwin Brecht, the Jefferson Lines depot manager, showed up for work at 6 a.m.
"It is kind of scary, now that I know why the investigators were looking for him," Brecht said after he learned Benfield was in custody. "Thank God! And I'm thankful there were not a lot of people on that bus."
Using the scheduled route, Brecht helped investigators track Benfield. At a southern Iowa stop they contacted the bus driver, informing him of the "armed and dangerous" cargo on board.
"The thing that made this guy stand out was his size and I remembered he was wearing a Pizza Hut hat," Brecht said. "But otherwise, I didn't think a thing about him - just another passenger."
Benfield, who spent 20 years in prison for multiple bank robberies, armed robberies, kidnapping, burglary, aggravated assault, auto theft and other crimes, is 6-foot-2 and weighs 280 to 300 pounds, Cook said, adding that he is a suspect in several other recent armed robberies in the Twin Cities.
Benfield faces charges of first degree burglary, second degree assault and kidnapping and was allegedly carrying a pellet gun pistol at the time of his arrest, McCabe said. "He was arrested without incident and we anticipate that he will be extradited back to West St. Paul to face the charges there."
"We got lucky," Jackson said. "And I'm glad, 'cause it doesn't sound like this guy was of a mind to go quietly."