Suspect out on bail killed in crash after robbing drugstore

September 1, 2008

Rbu Henry-Bey of Apple Valley had been in prisons for much of his adult life before he used a hot-glue gun to hold up a Walgreens--perhaps to pull together money for a fine that was due on Monday.

On Sunday, the 54-year-old died when his vehicle crashed as he fled police in Scott County, minutes after robbing the 24-hour drugstore of about $1,400, police said Monday.

Police didn't pinpoint a motive, but a search of court records shows that Henry-Bey needed to pay $195 in fines in a petty theft case by Monday -- and that he was out of jail on $10,000 bail for yet another case.

Savage police Sgt. Mike Schiltz said Henry-Bey hadn't asked for drugs when he held up the employees of Walgreens on Eagan Drive in Savage Sunday. Schiltz acknowledged that he may have been trying to come up with cash to pay his fine. Police recovered the $1,400 from his crushed car.

Henry-Bey's wife did not return a reporter's calls Monday. He was also known as Robert Thomas Henry and had children.

His long criminal history in the metro area includes 1979 convictions for kidnapping and aggravated robbery in Hennepin County.

About 8:30 a.m. Sunday, police said, he held up the pharmacy at Eagan Drive and Highway 13. Two Savage police officers confronted him in the parking lot, but Henry-Bey sped south on Highway 13 at speeds of up to 100 mph, Schiltz said. The Savage officers dropped back as Prior Lake officers set up speed sticks.

Henry-Bey was still a good half-mile away and could not have seen them or the Prior Lake squad cars when he crashed, Schiltz said. The car flipped and was so crushed that police could not see inside of it. Henry-Bey was dead at the scene.

In addition to the petty theft charge for which he still owed a fine, he faced a first-degree burglary charge in Dakota County dating back to February. The charges say he sneaked into the Apple Valley Medical Center on Galaxie Avenue, where he had worked a year earlier as a janitor, and stole $1,247 worth of pills used to treat erectile dysfunction. Henry-Bey had a two-way radio on him, tuned to the same frequency as that on a radio in a nearby getaway car, where his cousin sat, with a gun under the seat, the complaint said.

If convicted, he would have faced up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000. Henry-Bey was out on $10,000 bail when killed Sunday, according to Dakota County records.

Joy Powell • 952-882-9017

© 2008 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

Darwin for once, was right.

His long criminal history in the metro area includes 1979 convictions for kidnapping and aggravated robbery in Hennepin County.

before he used a hot-glue gun to hold up a Walgreens