Police seek suspect in Superior cash register thefts

A number of thefts at store tills have taken place in Superior over the past few weeks.

On June 26, a woman walked up to the cash register of Walgreens, supposedly to buy candy. When the drawer opened, she snatched about $30 from it and ran. Less than 10 minutes later, apparently the same woman used the pretense of buying an energy drink to steal about $60 from the till at Hammond Spur.

If someone tries to steal money from a store counter, said Superior Police Capt. Matt Markon, getting a good ID is the best help police can get.

“We do not suggest anyone try following the person or apprehending them on their own,” he said. “That’s why we have 911.”

If employees and witnesses are able to give a good description of the suspect or their vehicle and point out which direction the suspect left in, Markon said, that can be a big help to police.

On the evening of July 4, a man asked for change for a $100 bill at Arby’s Restaurant, 3821 Tower Ave. Then he grabbed the smaller bills out of the employee’s hand when she realized the bill was counterfeit.

Markon cautioned employees to take a larger bill from the customer and determine whether it is real before bringing change to the counter.

“That’s where the snatch-and-grab happens,” he said.

While many counterfeit bills look good from a distance, they will look and feel wrong.

An arrest warrant is out for the woman accused of both June 26 crimes, 30-year-old Arlanda Mae Hancock of Duluth. She faces felony charges of robbery with use of force and theft from a person or corpse as well as two counts of misdemeanor bail-jumping. If convicted, she faces a maximum 25 years’ imprisonment for the felony counts and up to nine months each for the bail-jumping charges.

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