Robbery Suspect Faces Federal Charges

In a five-hour span, police say an Inver Grove Heights man robbed two gas stations, holding the attendants at gunpoint while demanding cash.

Now that man, Joseph Laurence Forliti, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted for his alleged role in the two June robberies.

Forliti, 21, was charged on Tuesday in federal court with two counts of possession of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Forliti was also charged with two counts of interference with commerce by robbery under the Hobbs Act, which allows federal prosecutors to prosecute violent, habitual criminals who commit armed robbery in businesses involved in interstate commerce.

According to police, Forliti was one of two masked men who allegedly robbed SuperAmerica stores in Maplewood and White Bear Lake in June. During the first robbery on June 14 in Maplewood, police say Forliti ran behind the checkout counter, pointed a gun at the clerk and yelled at her to open the register. While Forliti took money from the register, his accomplice held onto a customer. Both men then ran from the store with $200 in cash, police said.

Just hours after robbing the first gas station, police say Forliti and his accomplice struck again, robbing a second convenience store in White Bear Lake using similar methods. Witnesses told police Forliti was armed with a handgun.

At 5:15 a.m., an hour after the second robbery, a Washington County Sheriff's deputy found two men who matched the description of the robbers in a wooded area close to the White Bear Lake store. The officer arrested the men and recovered $181 in cash from Forliti's pockets.

If convicted, Forliti faces a maximum penalty of life in prison on each count of possession of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He also faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of interference with commerce by robbery.

The case is the result of an investigation by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Ramsey and Washington County Sheriff's offices and local police departments.

Forliti has previous felony convictions for first-degree burglary and fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, according to Minnesota court records. His alleged accomplice faces charges in Ramsey County.