Man charged with armed robbery of a dollar store in Aurora

Lamar Russell was charged with robbing a dollar store.

Lamar Russell, 26, of Aurora faces charges of felony armed robbery in connection with a Tuesday robbery of a dollar store.

A man has been charged with robbing a store in west suburban Aurora.

Lamar Russell, 26, is charged with felony armed robbery of a Dollar General Store in Aurora, according to a statement from the Aurora Police Department.

About 12:40 p.m. Tuesday, officers responded to a call of an armed robbery in the 1000 block of East Galena Boulevard. Police were told a man wearing a face mask and waving a gun forced his way into the store’s office demanding access to the safe, police said.

The man took an employee, who was alone in the office, to other parts of the store looking for the safe. When he was unable to find it, he took the employee’s cellphone and left the store, police said.

After watching surveillance videos to get a description of the robber, police began tracking the employee’s stolen phone. Officers found Russell several miles away in possession of the phone and a fake handgun, police said.

Russell, who lives in Aurora, was taken to the Kane County Jail for arraignment, police said.

Lamar Russell