Main Street in Whitewater encountered some situations that allegedly involved firearms at gas stations over the past two weeks. No one was harmed, but the seriousness of the incidents has caused concern in the community.
The two gas stations are BP and Casey’s, both located on West Main Street. These took place on the same street and are not far off from each other geographically. Both gas stations declined to disclose any information about the ongoing situation. Both of these recent situations of unlawful actions took place with a weapon.
The first incident occurred at BP Tuesday, Feb. 20, around 9 p.m. The perpetrator was reportedly a 19-year-old male that is a current student at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. The case is still pending a decision from the court and there are no available sources able to speak on this case until its conclusion. Chief of Police Dan Meyer, included details on the actions that took place in a released report that responded to the incident that occurred at BP.
“The male demanded a pack of cigars, left the gas station, and fled in a vehicle. Officers located the suspect at Knilans Hall on the UW-Whitewater campus,” Meyer wrote in the report.
Meyer included that there were no further comments at this time because the case was still developing. To recap the robbery, the male supposedly used a replica gun to obtain a pack of cigars from the cashier. The authorities were able to track down the suspect to the campus area. The suspect was found on campus and it is unclear where in Knilans Hall they were found. After the perpetrator was located, he was taken into custody without incident. This case is still ongoing and unless judgment of conviction is entered, the defendant is presumed innocent of all charges.
The more recent incident at Casey’s was allegedly between a pair of customers that got into a verbal altercation while outside of the gas station. While pumping gas, one customer escalated the situation by bringing out a gun because of a disagreement. The reasoning behind the disagreement is not available at this time.
After the altercation, the authorities were alerted and responded accordingly. As the case sits right now, there is no other information available to the public at this time.
Both gas stations were unable to comment about the situations because they do not want to interfere with the investigations that have not officially closed yet.