One person has been taken into custody in connection with an armed robbery that was caught on camera at a pizza shop in Dover, New Hampshire Wednesday night, according to Dover police.
Police said Brice R. Charest, 36, of Dover, New Hampshire, was arrested Thursday morning at his home.
At approximately 7:11 p.m. Wednesday, Papa Jay’s Pizzeria on Broadway said a masked person entered the restaurant and put a gun to an employee’s head while demanding money. The robber also demanded employees hand over their phones before fleeing the restaurant through a back door.
Police said the gun was not discharged and no injuries were reported.
A cashier working at the time recounted the terrifying encounter.
“And then I heard something, ‘this is a robbery’ and I turned around and he was standing there and I asked him, ‘Is this a joke?’” said Jason Parker, an employee at Papa Jay’s. “His adrenaline was going. He was all over the place and the gun was just going back and forth. As soon as he took his eyes off me, which was about ten seconds later, I turned around dialed 911, put the phone down and tried to use some words like, ‘money’s in the cash register,’ ‘put the gun down,’ so that way 911 would hear me saying that.”
Parker said the robber then pointed the gun at another employee.
“As soon as I saw that, that’s why I said, ‘hey I got the money over here, let’s go.’ So I was trying to distract him to get him over here and away, he didn’t have the money,” Parker explained.
In a statement, Papa Jay’s wrote, “One of our young employees is extremely shaken, and while several of us have what we call ‘strong skin,’ this affected every single person in that room. No one should ever have to experience something like this just for going to work. We are incredibly grateful that no one was physically injured. Our focus right now is on supporting our employees and their families as they process this trauma.”
Parker said he feels relieved that the suspect is in custody.
“I was thinking about their safety, all of our safety, you know, today’s Thanksgiving. I was like we need to make it until tomorrow, you know? Nice turkey dinner, but that’s why I was waiving him over to just get him the money, get him out of here,” he said.
Charest is charged with one count of Robbery. He is expected to be arraigned in Dover District Court Friday morning.
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