St. Clair Square employee faked robbery report to cover his own crime, police say
A 25-year-old St. Louis man is in custody at St. Clair County Jail after making a false armed robbery report to cover his own crime at St. Clair Square Mall in Fairview Heights.
On Wednesday, the St. Clair County State’s Attorney charged Sher Bhujel, 700 Block of Pardella, of theft and disorderly conduct for falsely reporting a crime.
According to Fairview Heights Police, on Feb. 23 at approximately 11:30 a.m, dispatchers received a 911 call reporting an armed robbery, which had just occurred just outside of the food court entrance at St. Clair Square. The caller described two suspects and said they were armed with a gun.
Bhujel, an employee of Sarku Japan restaurant in the food court, claimed he had walked outside the mall with a bank bag to make a deposit when the supposed suspects approached him. But officers found discrepancies in his account of what had happened.
Bhujel was later interviewed by detectives, who learned that he had planned to report the robbery to cover his own crimes. Detectives learned that he had previously stolen some of the restaurant’s bank deposits for his own use and made up the robbery to clear himself with his employer.
Bhujel is being held at the St. Clair County Jail on $20,000 bond.
