2 Charged In Oak Creek Applebee's Robbery

OAK CREEK, WI -- A Milwaukee man accused of robbing the Oak Creek Applebee's at gunpoint has been charged.

Odell D. Miller, 30, Milwaukee, has been charged with armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon. Jamel J. Durr, 37, Milwaukee, has been charged with being a party to the crime after police say they caught him behind the wheel with Miller in the passenger seat shortly after the reported robbery on Dec. 27.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County, police officers from Oak Creek were called to the 13th Street Applebee's for a report of an armed robbery.

According to the complaint, officers spoke with the restaurant manager, who said that he was in the back area of the restaurant when he learned that a customer wanted to speak with him.

When the manager went up to the bar, he said a man pulled out a gun and pointed it at him, demanding that he turn over the money stored in the restaurant's safe, investigators noted in the complaint.

According to the report, the manager led the man to the petty cash box that was located in the safe, and handed it to him. The man was upset that there was so little money in the box and began to yell. The man took the box with the cash and left the restaurant.

According to the criminal complaint, witnesses reported seeing the man run toward the La Quinta hotel before fleeing in a silver car.

He wouldn't get far.

According to reports, officers conducted a traffic stop on a silver Mercury Sable near 13th Street and Rawson Ave. In that vehicle, officers say they found Durr behind the wheel and Miller in the passenger seat. Officers also say they found the same cash box that was taken from the Applebees. Officers also reported finding a Ruger SR40 firearm under the passenger seat.

According to reports, the manager picked Miller out of a photo array as the man who conducted the armed robbery at Applebee's earlier that day. Miller denies committing the robbery, according to the criminal complaint.

Wisconsin court records show that Miller was convicted in 2012 of robbing a financial institution.

Both Durr and Miller could face up to 25 years behind bars, or a $100,000 fine, or both, if they are convicted of the armed robbery charges against them.

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