Belleville man charged with robbing Mascoutah gas station

A 20-year-old Belleville man has been charged in connection with an armed robbery at the Moto Mart in Mascoutah earlier this week.

Malcolm I. Schwentker of the 100 block of Delmart St. in Belleville was charged Friday with one count of armed robbery, a Class X felony, by the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The armed robbery occurred about 2:15 a.m. Wednesday at the Moto Mart at 303 E. Main St. Police said the store’s clerk was robbed of an undetermined amount of money by a male armed with a large knife and wearing a brown coat and a ski mask.

Mascoutah Police Chief Bruce Fleshren said a tip came in after the suspect’s photo was released to media outlets in the area.

Officers began to investigate the tip and went to a residence in Shiloh and located possible evidence of the robbery, according to police.

Fleshren said Schwentker was arrested at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday by Mascoutah police assisted by Belleville police in the 100 block of East Main Street in Belleville. A knife was recovered, police said, but no money from the robbery was recovered during the investigation.

Schwentker is being held in St. Clair County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bond set by Judge Heinz Rudolf.

The Mascoutah Police Department had some prior contact with Schwentker, but for only minor issues, when he lived in the city until mid-2015, Fleshren said. Schwentker has no other criminal history.

“There appears to be no other motivation here than greed,” Fleshren said. “No matter how a person can rationalize their actions, there is no excuse for putting people in danger of injury, or loss life for your own gain.”

This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Belleville man charged with robbing Mascoutah gas station."