OKC Police Arrest Blowtorch-Wielding Robbery Suspect

An Oklahoma City man was arrested early Friday morning after police said he robbed a convenience store with a lit blowtorch.

According to police, at about 4 a.m., officers responded to the report of an armed robbery at Star Fuel Mart, located at 6340 N. May. A clerk told police he stepped outside and saw the suspect, who held up a lit blowtorch to the clerk’s face and told him to go back inside.

Once inside, police said the suspect told the clerk to open up the register so he could take the money. He reportedly said to the clerk, “Don’t make this a bad night for you.”

The suspect grabbed the money from the register and put them in a trash bag. Before fleeing the scene, he grabbed two packs of cigars and messed with the safe for a few seconds.

Officers arrived at the scene quickly and spotted the suspect, later identified as 24-year-old Alexander Pratt, running east through an apartment complex near the convenience store. Pratt was later arrested in the 2600 block of N.W. 58th Place.