Man Robbed at Gunpoint at Burger King

With the help of an accomplice, a employee robbed a 49-year-old Milwaukee man at gunpoint in the men's room of the restaurant at 3880 N. 124th St. about 2:15 p.m. Thursday, Wauwatosa police said.

After the robbery, the suspect ordered the victim to leave the restaurant without saying a word and the victim saw the gunman return to the kitchen to work, police said.

The victim called police just outside the restaurant, and multiple squads responded and formed a perimeter to secure the area and search for the gunman and gun. Police found the suspect, a 21-year-old Milwaukee man, in the kitchen and the victim identified him at the scene as the gunman.

In a search of the restaurant, police also found a fully loaded ACP 380-caliber handgun, with eight rounds of ammunition in the gun magazine and one round in the chamber. Police found the gun stuffed into a cardboard box of plastic drinking cups in a storage area of the restaurant.

The restaurant manager deferred comment to the firm's Milwaukee headquarters; corporate office representatives did not return Patch's calls for comment.

The suspect, paroled on June 29, was arrested on charges of armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon. The man was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison in September 2007 for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and on two felony firearm charges.

The victim told police he is self-employed and goes to restaurants to sell costume jewelry. He had no takers at the Burger King, and so was headed to another fast food restaurant when a Burger King employee came out of the restaurant and told him to come back inside, as a fellow employee wanted to look at his wares. The employee said his co-worker would meet the man in the men's room.

The victim returned to the Burger King, went into the men's room and found it empty, and so started to leave the restaurant a second time. As he was walking out, a man with gold teeth motioned him back into the men's room. The victim showed him three gold chains and two rings, and the employee then pulled a handgun from his waistband and demanded the jewelry.

The victim told police he didn't take his eyes off the gun, and turned over the jewelry. The employee then told the victim to keep quiet and walk away, police said. The victim called police as soon as he got outside.

Police also arrested the 32-year-old man who told the victim to come back to the Burger King to show the jewelry to a fellow employee. That man, found outside the restaurant near the Dumpster, was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana. Police are still investigating his role in the incident.