Manteno robbery suspect arrested during Monee traffic stop

A man suspected of robbing a gas station at gunpoint early Monday in Manteno was arrested during a traffic stop Tuesday in south suburban Monee.

The armed robbery happened just before 2 a.m. at the Circle K gas station at Route 50 and Division Street in Manteno, according to a statement from Manteno police. The suspect showed a “large framed revolver” and took an undisclosed amount of cash and cigarettes.

Manteno police posted surveillance footage of the robbery to their YouTube page Monday.

About 3:33 a.m. Tuesday, Monee police officers were called about a suspicious person walking around in a truck stop parking area near I-57 and Monee-Manhattan Road, Monee police said in a statement. Officers arrived to see a vehicle speeding out of the lot and conducted a traffic stop.

During the stop, the officers noticed that 22-year-old Joshua Carlson, who was in the vehicle, matched the description of the suspect in the Manteno robbery as well as an attempted armed robbery at a BP gas station in Monee on Easter morning, Monee police said. They searched the vehicle and found a mask and a weapon.

Carlson, who lives in downstate Essex, was charged with attempted armed robbery for the Monee incident and taken to the Will County Adult Detention Facility, Monee police said. Further charges were expected to be filed against him in Kankakee County for the Manteno robbery.

Carlson was scheduled to appear in court for a bond hearing Wednesday, according to Will County sheriff’s records.

A female who was in the vehicle with him during the traffic stop was released pending investigation, Monee police said.

Anyone with information about either of the robbery investigations is asked to call Manteno police at (815) 929-4801 or Monee police at (708) 534-8308.