RACINE – A Racine was apprehended and charged in connection with a December attempted robbery of a convenience store after a relative identified him in a social media post this week.
The Racine County District Attorney’s Office charged Dontrell D. Hollie, 27, with attempted robbery with use of force, misdemeanor battery, and disorderly conduct. According to online court records, he made an initial court appearance Friday afternoon where cash bond was set at $750.
According to the criminal complaint, Racine Police were called to a reported attempted robbery at the Villa Stop & Save, 1304 Villa St., on the evening of Dec. 14, 2020. A clerk told officers that a Black male entered the store and asked for cigarillos. When handed the cigarillos, the man said they were the wrong flavor. The clerk briefly turned his back to get a different flavor and when he turned around, the man sprayed him in the face with an unknown liquid from a bottle and then lifted the partition to go behind the counter. The clerk’s wife, who was also behind the counter, yelled “Police! Police!” and the suspect ran from the store, leaving the bottle on the counter.
The store’s video surveillance footage showed the suspect walking into the store. He was wearing a disposable face mask and his eyes and forehead were visible.
On Thursday, a Racine Police Department investigator met with a woman who had contacted police saying she could identify the suspect from the incident as seen in a Facebook post. The woman told police that she recognized the Gucci face mask as owned by Hollie and that she had a video of him wearing it. She also said a backpack he was wearing in the store video was given to him by a friend of hers.
The police investigator reviewed a video provided by the woman and determined that the face mask worn by Hollie could have been turned inside out. Later Thursday, police located Hollie during a traffic stop. He denied involvement in the robbery saying that he was in Chicago at the time and that his brother could confirm the information, the complaint stated. When contacted by police, Hollie’s brother confirmed that Hollie was staying with him in December, but he was “in and out” and couldn’t say where he was last Dec. 14.
After reviewing the store surveillance video, the police investigator determined that based on the subject’s height, eyes and forehead, he was confident the person was indeed Hollie.
Hollie’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 28 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave.