A St. Paul man who tried to rob an East Side restaurant with a steak knife — only to be thwarted by an off-duty police officer having dinner with his family — was sentenced Wednesday to two years of probation and 50 hours of community work service for the Father’s Day attack.
St. Paul officer Jonathan Valencia was at Best Steak House at White Bear and Larpenteur avenues June 16 when Drew Charles Larson grabbed the tip jar from the counter just before 6 p.m.
A restaurant worker confronted Larson, who grabbed a steak knife and raised it above his head as if to stab the worker, according to the charges.
Drew Charles Larson (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
When Valencia intervened, Larson pointed the knife at him. Valencia then drew a gun, identified himself as a police officer and told Larson to drop the knife.
Larson complied, and Valencia and restaurant workers held onto him while Valencia’s father called 911. On-duty officers arrived and took Larson into custody.
In an interview with police, Larson said he took the tip jar because he was hungry, the charges say. He said he only brandished the knife because he thought the worker was going to hurt him.
“This goes to show that duty and the oath to protect do not have a day off,” the St. Paul Police Department said two days later in a Facebook post. “St. Paul police officers are always vigilant, whether they’re on duty or off with their families.”
Larson, 39, was charged in Ramsey County District Court with three felonies: two counts of first-degree aggravated robbery and simple robbery.
A month before the robbery, Larson was put on probation for one year for committing a similar offense in West St. Paul last year. According to court records, he stole about $50 from a tip jar at El Taquito Taco Shop along South Robert Street. He pleaded guilty to petty misdemeanor theft.
‘He made a really poor decision’
Larson reached a plea agreement with Ramsey County prosecutors in November and admitted to the simple robbery charge in exchange for a stayed prison term. It also included a stay of imposition, meaning the felony conviction would be lowered to a misdemeanor if he successfully completed probation.
Larson’s attorney, assistant public defender Sarah Leonard, argued to Judge Adam Yang at Wednesday’s hearing that the felony offense should be sentenced as a gross misdemeanor, contending it was less serious than the typical simple robbery.
She said Larson, who was homeless, went into the restaurant to commit a misdemeanor and picked up the knife off a counter because he feared for his safety after being confronted.
“Due to the circumstances of how this played out, he made a really poor decision,” she said, pointing out he didn’t go to the restaurant with a weapon. … “He didn’t grab someone and take their purse. And he didn’t lead with the commission of the force. He was trying to commit a misdemeanor.”
She said Larson has been sober since the offense and is receiving treatment and mental health care.
“He feels badly about what happened, and he said as much in the (presentence investigation),” she said.
Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Cory Tennison opposed the defense’s motion, saying Larson sees himself as the victim.
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“I commend officer Valencia for protecting others,” Tennison said. “I don’t think the defendant agrees with that point of view. I don’t think he recognizes how this affected other people trying to enjoy a nice evening meal or how it affected the employees of the restaurant.”
A threat of force is enough for a simple robbery charge, he said.
“Here, the defendant used a knife,” he said. “This should be a felony.”
Yang agreed, and denied the defense’s motion. He stayed a 1½-year prison term for two years — prosecution asked for three — and followed the remaining terms of the plea agreement.
Larson, who had spent 37 days in jail after his arrest and before posting bond, was also ordered to stay away from Best Steak House while on probation.
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