Police nab suspect in Christmas Eve Family Dollar heist

UPDATE @ 10:15 p.m. Dec. 25

A gunman who police say stole nearly $4,000 in Christmas Eve proceeds after Family Dollar was closed was arrested within six hours by Dayton police.

The robbery happened at 9:15 p.m. when a man dressed in all black – including ski mask, gloves, hooded zip sweatshirt, pants and shoes – walked into the office area of the store, 645 Troy St. in Dayton. The suspect had a black handgun in his left hand and took the bag intended for the bank that contained $3,879.31 and fled the store, according to a Dayton police report.

Employees had no idea how the suspect got inside because the store was closed and the doors locked. However, surveillance video showed the suspect came out of the stock room, and that he had been in the store with his girlfriend as a shopper a few hours earlier, the report stated.

Police identified the suspect as 26-year-old Jeremy Michael Braden, who was arrested at 4 a.m. in the 1700 block of Leonhard Street. He is being held in the Montgomery County Jail on suspicion of aggravated robbery and his awaiting a Tuesday afternoon arraignment in Dayton Municipal Court, online jail records show.

Surveillance footage also showed that Braden shook hands with one of two men in the store who were caught on camera stealing goods out of the stock room during open store hours. It is not clear whether those men have been identified or arrested, nor whether Braden was working on concert with them.

Kettering police today have not announced any arrests regarding an attempted robbery at a Family Dollar on Smithville Road that also happened on Christmas Eve. There were two involved in the Kettering incident.

EARLIER

Police were called to two Family Dollar robberies on Christmas Eve in Kettering and Dayton.

The most recent was shortly before 9:30 p.m. when a gunman held up the Family Dollar at 645 Troy St. in Dayton. According to initial reports, the suspect was dressed in black and carrying a black handgun. It is not clear how much money he took before fleeing the store.

Police in Kettering also were called to a report of a robbery at Family Dollar, 2360 Smithville Road, but in that case the suspects left empty-handed.

The two men dressed in black hooded sweatshirts with the hoods pulled taut over their faces entered the store. They demanded money from a cashier, but the cashier ordered them to get out, and they complied, police said. The suspects – one wearing black sweatpants and the other red sweatpants – ran off without any money. The Kettering incident is under investigation as an attempted robbery, police said.