Fridley Police Say They Nabbed Knife-Flashing Shoplift Duo

They had a cartful of merchandise they hadn't paid for, police say—and a knife.

But a two-person shoplifting team didn't get far from the Fridley Menards store about 9:30 a.m. Thursday after they threatened store security personnel with a knife, according to police.

Two men are in Anoka County jail pending charges: a 21-year-old from Fridley arrested on suspicion of shoplifting and assault with a dangerous weapon, and a 26-year-old from Minneapolis arrested on suspicion of assault with a dangerous weapon, theft and driving after license revocation.

SEE: PHOTOS/DOCUMENTS: Men Charged with Using Knife while Robbing Menards

This is the account Lt. Mike Monsrud gave Friday morning:

One suspect loaded more than $651 worth of merchandise on a cart in the store then pushed it outside without paying. The second suspect pulled up in the getaway car. Store security tried to intervene but backed off after one of the suspects brandished the knife. The suspects then loaded some of the merchandise into the car and drove away.

A motorist who saw the commotion pulled up to ask what had happened, then called 911 and followed the suspects' vehicle into the residential neighborhood east of Menards but lost them.

Fridley police were able to locate and stop the suspects' car on East Moore Lake Drive where they arrested the driver. The passenger ran away across the Life Time Fitness parking lot but a police officer ran him down.

Police recovered the knife, Monsrud said, as well as the merchanidise.

Shoplifting isn't unusual, he added, "but to take it as far as threatening someone's life [for $650]" is.