Police searching for 'armed and dangerous' man involved in robberies at Culver's across SE Wisconsin

 

MEQUON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A man in Southeast Wisconsin is hitting the Culver's drive-thru -- but not for a butter burger or some cheese curds. 

Police say he is suspected of robbing three separate Culver's locations across a three-week period.

The man, who is described in a news release as a "heavy-set white male operating a red 4-door Jeep with a hard top and no license plates, who may be armed and dangerous", was first seen in the drive-thru at the Culver's on W. Tyranena Park Rd. in Lake Mills on Sept. 26.

Over a week later on Oct. 6, he was in Janesville at a location on Milton Ave. and four days after that, he was seen in Mequon at the Culver's on N Port Washington Rd. 

“He presented a note to the drive-thru clerk, demanding money, and then implied that he had a weapon in his vehicle," said Mequon PD Captain John Hoell. "He said, 'don't make me grab what's in this bag.'"

According to Capt. Hoell, the man drove off after being handed a "small amount of currency."

His attempt in Janesville, however, was thwarted after "the employees shut the window," a news release said.  

An employee who CBS 58 spoke with at a different Culver's location said he was concerned about his safety knowing the suspect has not been caught.

If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, Capt. Hoell said the best thing to do is comply.

"Don’t resist because you don’t know what the true intentions of this person are, and any amount of currency or property is not worth injuring yourself or losing your life for," Capt. Hoell said. "But if you can take yourself out of harm's way, do so as fast as possible.”

Eric Skrum, the director of public relations and communications for Culver's, provided this statement: 

"The safety of our team members and our guests is our number one priority. We have security measures and training constantly in place, whether there has been an incident or not. We are fully cooperating with the police with their investigation. Our hope is that the person or persons responsible for these robberies will soon be in custody and brought to justice."

Officials are asking the community for help in identifying and finding the suspect. If you have any information, please call Lake Mills PD at (920)-648-2354, Janesville PD at (608)-757-2244, or Mequon PD at (262)-242-3500.