An Arizona Shake Shack worker has been charged after authorities say he held up the very restaurant where he was employed, threatened two colleagues with a gun, locked them inside a walk-in cooler and then showed up for a shift in uniform two days later.
Keondre Simmons, 33, allegedly called out of his job at the Shake Shack in Kierland Commons in Phoenix around midnight on Aug. 3, then returned to the location later that morning to carry out the armed robbery, according to court documents reviewed by FOX 10 Phoenix.
Officers investigating the robbery were told that an employee had opened a rear delivery entrance after hearing a bell and assuming a scheduled delivery had arrived at the restaurant.
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Keondre Simmons, 33, is accused in court documents of robbing the Phoenix Shake Shack where he worked at gunpoint, then returning to the restaurant in uniform two days later. (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office; iStock)
“[The employee] opened the door after hearing the delivery bell, believing a scheduled delivery had arrived,” the court documents say.
“When the door opened, the suspect pointed a firearm at [the employee], ordered him inside, and escorted him at gunpoint toward the walk-in cooler. The suspect forced [the employee] inside and locked the cooler door.”
Police said the gunman then confronted the manager on duty, forced him into the office and ordered him to open the restaurant’s safe.
“[The on-duty manager] unlocked the safe and, under threat of firearm, removed approximately $2,800 in mixed denominations and placed it into a black gun case-style container the suspect carried,” police wrote. “The suspect subsequently forced [the on-duty manager] into the walk-in cooler with [the employee], and successfully locked the door.”
New York City, USA – April 15, 2013: Customers dine at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. The chain diner opened in 2004 and the Madison Square Park location is the original. ( )
Investigators said both victims eventually managed to escape the cooler, but the suspect returned moments later, escorted them to the office and ordered them to kneel at gunpoint.
“The suspect took both victims’ cellphones and the office landline, then destroyed them by throwing them into a sink filled with water. The suspect then exited the business through the rear delivery door,” police wrote.
Investigators later identified Simmons as the suspect, according to the court documents.
Two days after the robbery, Simmons allegedly returned to the Shake Shack wearing his work uniform, where police arrested him.
A Shake Shack employee allegedly stole approximately $2,800 from the restaurant at Kierland Commons in Phoenix after holding two co-workers at gunpoint, according to court documents. (iStock)
Simmons later told investigators that he “discarded the clothing worn during the incident, and a firearm is inside his residence,” according to court documents.
Simmons faces charges of armed robbery, aggravated assault and kidnapping.
He is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 25.
