MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) – An arrest has been made in connection to an armed robbery at a Manitowoc bowling alley Monday.
Torry Cronce has not been formally charged but was booked into Manitowoc County Jail on a felony charge of Robbery by Threat of a Dangerous Weapon.
After releasing a surveillance video of the robbery, Manitowoc police received tips on a possible identification of the suspect.
Soon after, officers located a vehicle that matched the description parked in a location near the crime scene.
Police reported that a suspect entered the Meadow Lanes North blowing alley around 2:00 p.m Monday afternoon.
He was described as wearing a baseball cap, white tennis shoes, a purple jacket and a purple cloth that was covering his face.
Captain David Vorpahl of the Manitowoc Police Department says he told employees that were working that he had a friend in the car with a gun, demanded cash and left with an undisclosed amount.
The employees say that the suspect placed a laptop case on the bar for them to put the money into.
The suspect was heard saying Happy April Foos Day and left.
Upon locating the matching vehicle, officers determined that it was registered to Torry Cronce and spotted a laptop case and purple cloth inside the vehicle.
Detectives also found a hammer inside the vehicle.
Officers surrounded and surveilled the apartment while a search warrant was being applied for. While the warrant was being applied for, Cronce spoke with detectives working on the case by phone. On two calls, he gave inconsistent information about his work hours.
When the search warrant was executed, detectives located the baseball cap with the same markings from surveillance video in Cronce’s apartment. Also located were white tennis shoes, a bluish/purple zip-up sweatshirt, and cash under a bathroom rug.
During the investigation, detectives learned that Cronce had gone to a local business and made a purchase using just the two specific denominations of bills.
After viewing video from that business, detectives were able to confirm it was Cronce making the purchase. This purchase was made a short time after the robbery while Cronce was wearing the same clothing that was worn during the robbery.
