Cops Catch Crook After Smoke Shop Stickup

St. Louis County police say they apprehended the perpetrator of a robbery at in Grasso Plaza this afternoon.

Around noon, a man who held his hand in his pocket as if he had a gun robbed the smoke shop at 67 Grasso Plaza. It is unclear whether he had a weapon or not. No one was hurt.

The police were called, and officers on the scene said police apprehended the robber soon after at a house a few blocks away on Weber Road near Valcour Avenue. The suspect was tracked with the help of a K-9 unit.

About 1 p.m. three police cars and a crime scene unit were seen in front of the house on Weber. At the same time, county officers were on foot with a police dog from the K-9 unit were searching the parking lot behind the Walgreens at Grasso Plaza.

Across the street from the shopping plaza, workers were setting up rides for the school picnic at .

An hour after the robbery, Welcome Smokers was open for business as again, but the employees were visibly shaken and would not talk about the incident except to acknowledge that the robbery had taken place and that they feared the intruder had a gun at the time.