Men from Chicago accused in armed robbery in Waukesha that led to lockdown at Walmart in New Berlin

WAUKESHA/NEW BERLIN -- Criminal charges have been filed against three men from Chicago in connection with an armed robbery that occurred at the Verizon Wireless store on Silvernail Road in Waukesha. That armed robbery led to a pursuit, and a lockdown and evacuation at the Walmart store on Greenfield Avenue in New Berlin. One of the men is still at large.

The accused are: 23-year-old Romero Eddmonds, 24-year-old Demonte Oliver, and 20-year-old Keycie Street. They are each facing one count of armed robbery as party to a crime.

Only two of the men are currently in custody. An arrest warrant has been issued for Keycie Street.

Police were called out to the Verizon store on Silvernail Road in Waukesha on Saturday, October 24th around 3:15 p.m.

Officers learned the suspects were able to get away with a register that contained between $250 and $300, and approximately 20 cell phones from a back safe area.

According to the criminal complaint, an employee saw a white, four-door SUV drive by the store and park on Saturday afternoon. The employee said there were two black males in the vehicle's front seats, and the employee indicated she was suspicious due to a recent robbery at the store.

The complaint says the employee recognized one of the two suspects who entered the store -- saying that suspect visited the store about a month ago.

The second suspect to enter the store pulled a semi-automatic handgun on the Verizon employee, according to the employee's statement to officials, while the other suspect began grabbing the register.

Eventually, the suspects led the employee to the back of the store, and the employee was able to press the panic button on the safe while opening it. The employee indicated the suspects then began grabbing phones and asking where the iPads were located.

According to the complaint, the suspects were able to get away with about 20 phones.

The complaint says the suspects asked where the DVR box for the surveillance cameras were, and one of the suspects ripped that box out of the wall, throwing it to the ground.

At some point while they were in the back room, one of the suspects said "let's tie her up," according to the statement from the Verizon employee.

The suspects then left the store -- exiting out the back door.

Police learned the suspects had gotten away with a total of 33 phones, valued at more than $21,000, along with more than $370 in cash. One of the phones had a "bullseye" tracking device inside its box -- a GPS tracker.

Investigators learned the "bullseye" tracking device was located eastbound on I-94 -- passing Highway 18. They learned the suspect vehicle in this case was a white SUV.

According to the complaint, the white SUV was located at the Walmart store in New Berlin. Investigators learned the three suspects had exited the vehicle and fled -- one running through a nearby cemetery. That suspect was taken into custody shortly thereafter, and identified as Demonte Oliver.

A second suspect entered the Walmart store and wasn't apprehended. That suspect was identified as Keycie Street.

Investigators learned through Walmart surveillance video that Street had purchased a video game at the store, before exiting. As he left the store, he was stopped by deputies, checked out, and then released.

A citizen later revealed she then saw Street enter a four-door red vehicle with a woman approximately 60 years of age. This citizen was able to provide investigators with a video of the woman that provided Street a ride. Walmart security officials are attempting to identify this woman through Walmart receipts.

Walmart surveillance video showed Street touched a display case when purchasing the video game inside the store, so investigators responded to lift fingerprints from the case. Additionally, the $100 bill used to purchase the game was confiscated as evidence.

The third suspect, who was the driver of the vehicle, was taken into custody near the intersection of Moorland Road and Greenfield Avenue near a Walgreens after exiting the vehicle at Walmart and heading out on foot. That suspect was identified as Romero Eddmonds.

The complaint indicates a cash register and multiple cell phone boxes were located inside the suspect vehicle, along with a semiautomatic handgun and an ammunition magazine.

Investigators interviewed Eddmonds, who indicated he was in Milwaukee from Chicago to visit his brother, and on October 24th, he was walking around to "buy some weed," and he eventually stopped at a Speedway gas station, where he spoke with a man who "asked if he had his weed already." Eddmonds said he had never seen this man before -- and that he got into the man's truck with him, a truck Eddmonds described as being "cream-ish white."

Eddmonds said there was another man in the truck with them, and that he was going to buy some weed from them.

According to the complaint, after about 20 minutes of driving, the man he had met at the gas station asked Eddmonds if he wanted to drive. The man then directed Eddmonds to the Verizon store, because the man wanted to pay his cell phone bill, according to Eddmonds.

When they arrived at the store, Eddmonds said the other two men in the vehicle with him exited -- with "the tall one" going into the store first. Eddmonds said "the little one" was on his phone, and told Eddmonds to park the vehicle, before "the little one" went into the store.

Eventually, Eddmonds said he saw the men "rushing out" of the store, and "the little one" had a black plastic bag in his hand.

Both men got back into the vehicle, and one of them was providing directions to Eddmonds from his phone. They got on the freeway, and Eddmonds told investigators the men kept saying the police were coming -- saying "go, go, go."

When Eddmonds saw police, he got off at the next exit -- driving to the Walmart store. While they were driving, Eddmonds indicated he saw the men in the backseat of the vehicle pulling phones out of a bag, and a gun sitting on the seat.

When they got to Walmart, Eddmonds said "he knew the police were after them." The other two men exited the vehicle, and Eddmonds told police he started walking. He was taken into custody near the Walgreens parking lot.

Police were able to take a look at surveillance video from inside the Verizon store, despite the fact that the DVR system was damaged by the suspects. That video showed that the first suspect to enter the store was the one who pulled the weapon from his waistband. That suspect was identified as Demonte Oliver.

When he was taken into custody, Oliver was found wearing the same shirt he was seen wearing during the robbery, according to the complaint.

The complaint indicates investigators later spoke with Eddmonds again, and he admitted he knew "the tall one" responsible for this robbery -- indicating he had gone to high school with him. Eddmonds said he knew the suspect by the name "Demonte." According to the complaint, Eddmonds told investigators he had called Oliver on the day of the robbery, and that they had met up at the gas station.

Investigators eventually spoke with Oliver, who was "very emotional" during the interview, at times crying, and at other times becoming very aggressive, according to the complaint. Oliver told investigators that Street was the mastermind behind the armed robbery.

Oliver said he met Eddmonds at a gas station, and that he had fallen asleep in the car. He remembered waking up at the Verizon store. Oliver said it was Street who had the gun, and who had gone into the store first. Oliver said Street told him he sells the phones at 33rd and Racine in Chicago, according to the complaint.

The complaint indicates that though Oliver told investigators it was Street who had the weapon, it was actually Oliver who was seen on video with the gun, and who entered the store first.

Eddmonds and Oliver have a court hearing scheduled for October 28th in this case.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Keycie Street.