Serial Armed Robber Arrested Minutes After His Latest Holdup

Intelligence-based precision policing led to the arrest late Sunday night of Abdalla Mohamed, 34, just after he robbed the Shell convenience market at 6955 Charlotte Pike at gunpoint while threatening to kill the clerk. Including Sunday night's robbery, Mohamed is suspected in a series of four convenience market holdups this month alone.

In Sunday night's case, Mohamed, wearing a mask, entered the market just after 10:30 p.m., showed the clerk his pistol, and exclaimed, "If you don't want to die, give me the money." The clerk complied. Mohamed ran from the store to his Nissan Rogue SUV parked nearby.

Unbeknownst to Mohamed, Violent Crimes robbery detectives had already identified him as a potential suspect and were keeping an eye on his actions from the ground and from the air. As Mohamed fled the area of the market in the SUV, an MNPD helicopter followed. After driving around for about 20 minutes, Mohamed pulled up to the gas pumps of another Shell market at 648 Thompson Lane. At that point, Robbery detectives moved in and took Mohamed into custody.

During an interview with the robbery team early today, Mohamed acknowledged being responsible for Sunday night's armed robbery, the February 14 armed robbery of the Mapco convenience market at 311 Harding Place, the February 6 armed robbery of the Mapco convenience market at 440 Harding Place, and the February 5 armed robbery of the Shell market at 1330 Vultee Boulevard.

Mohamed is charged with four counts of aggravated robbery and driving on a suspended license. A judicial commissioner set his bond at $202,000.