WALKER -- A Walker man allegedly used a baseball bat Friday morning as he attempted to rob a man outside a Bemidji convenience store.
Brandon Charles Brown, 26, was charged Monday in Beltrami County District Court with attempted first-degree aggravated robbery and second-degree assault. Both charges are felonies.
According to the criminal complaint, a suspect, later identified as Brown, came up behind a man who had withdrawn money from an ATM machine at about 6 a.m. and demanded his money.
Brown said that if the man refused, he would "get beat up with a bat," according to the complaint. The man turned around and saw Brown with a baseball bat sticking out of from inside the sleeve of his coat.
Brown then swung the bat at the man, but the intended victim was able to block the bat and take it from Brown, the complaint said. The man then threatened to throw his hot coffee at Brown, who then knocked the coffee from his hand.
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Brown then "head-butted" the man in the face, according to the complaint. Brown told the man to leave, but he refused.So Brown ran to a van and fled the scene.
The intended victim in the incident suffered facial injuries, including an enlarged upper and lower lip and a 1-inch cut to the inside of his upper lip.
Beltrami County Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene and followed tracks left by the van in the fresh snow. They also took measurements of footprints in the snow.
Both the victim and the clerk at the store were able to describe the suspect, who had been inside the convenience store prior to the alleged robbery attempt.
Camera footage also was available to help in identifying the van.
The investigation led officers to the Allen's Bay area of Beltrami County, where deputies located a van that matched the description of the suspect van, according to the complaint. Shoe prints near the van also matched those left at the convenience store.
A woman at the residence allowed police into the house, where Brown was located, according to the complaint. His clothing matched that reported by witnesses at the convenience store. His shoes also had treads that appeared to match those left in the snow.
Brown initially told police that he was not involved in any type of altercation outside of the convenience store, but later said that he had gotten into a fight, according to the complaint.
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Brown has two prior felony convictions for terroristic threats and two assault convictions.
