Charges filed in 2005 Casey's robbery

A 30-year-old man already serving time for the armed robbery of one New Prague convenience store has been charged with an earlier armed robbery, also in New Prague.

According to the criminal complaint filed last week in Scott County District Court, James Adam Radzevicius, has been charged with one count of aggravated robbery in the first degree for the September 30, 2005 armed robbery at Casey's General Store. The complaint states that the defendant walked into the store at approximately 10:39 p.m. that night, asked for the money in the till and lifted a gray hooded sweatshirt to display a weapon.

Police obtained a description from employees of the store and the next day found clothing matching the description given by Casey's employees and a pellet gun behind a business about two blocks away from the scene of the robbery.

Radzevicius was arrested after an armed robbery March 1, 2006, at the West End Pit Stop in New Prague. He was charged and convicted and is serving a sentence at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud.

New Prague police continued to investigate the earlier robbery and noticed from the surveillance tapes that the suspect in the Casey's robbery was wearing shoes that appeared to be the same as Radzevicius was wearing in the West End Pit Stop robbery. New Prague police submitted the evidence to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and asked for a DNA analysis on the hooded sweatshirt found after the earlier robbery. DNA from two or more people were found on the sweatshirt and some of the DNA matched the DNA on file for Radzevicius.

The complaint goes on to say that a search warrant for a DNA test was obtained on May 24, 2006, and the sample was sent to the BCA for analysis. A month later, the BCA reported a match with the DNA profile obtained from the sweatshirt recovered the day after the robbery.

On September 28, New Prague Police Chief Mark Vosejpka contacted Radzevicius by phone and, according to the complaint, Radzevicius admitted to his involvement in the crime.

If convicted, Radzevicius faces up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of $35,000.

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