Twin Cities' Alleged Burger King Bandit Nabbed by Investigators

A man authorities believe is connected to a string of fast food restaurant heists in the Twin Cities' northwest suburbs and exurbs is now in custody in Wright County. 

Douglas Gravelle, 34, was arrested at his home in Sartell around 10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, according to Wright County Lt. Sean Deringer. He will make his first appearance in Wright County District Court today, Oct. 18, around 1:30 p.m.

He is being charged with aggravated robbery in Wright County for a pair of holdups that occurred last month. 

The suspect, Wright County investigators believe, started his run of thefts with a Burger King in Annandale on Sept. 19. 

They also believe the suspect is tied to a robbery of the Monticello Burger King on the same day, and then a Monticello Game Stop store on the evening of Oct. 5.

Beginning Wednesday Maple Grove Police were seeking a suspect matching the same description after a man walked employees at the Burger King there into a freezer and locked them inside while he robbed the store on Weaver Lake Road. Surveillance there showed the man drove a dark-colored Dodge Durango, most likely black, and a later model, possibly 2005, according to a WCCO report. 

Maple Grove Police Capt. Keith Terlinden said the Wright County Sheriff's Office, Central Minnesota Drug Task Force, Sartell Police, Sauk Rapids Police, Big Lake Police, Stearns County Sheriff's Office, Anoka-Hennepin Drug Taks Force and the MGPD assisted in taking Gravelle into custody last night. 

"All law enforcement agencies involved would like to thank both the media and the public, who played a pertinent role in identifying the suspect," Terlinden stated via a press release. 

MGPD has ended its search for a suspect, but the investigation into the robberies is ongoing.