On February 20, 2024, around 10:50 P.M., officers responded to a robbery of a business at [ADDRESS REDACTED] in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. Call remarks stated that a Somali male wearing a black face mask, a black shiny jacket, and black sweatpants had robbed the caller at gunpoint. Officers arrived and spoke with the caller (“Victim”). Victim is an employee of the gas station / convenience store and was the only person working. Victim explained that the suspect drew her attention because he looked around the store for about 20 minutes.
Victim was concerned about the suspect entering the business with his face mask on and hood up. The suspect attempted to buy coffee and condoms but left the store without completing the purchase because he had forgotten his card. The suspect then returned and pointed an apparent firearm at Victim. When this happened, Victim [NAME REDACTED] had a heavy accent. Victim told the suspect that she could not access the safe behind the register. Ultimately, the suspect took about $350 in cash from the register and told Victim not to call anyone as he fled.
Surveillance video from inside the business captured the incident. On the video, the suspect was seen holding a coffee cup, grabbing the sugar dispenser, and touching the coffee maker. Friction Ridge Impression examination identified the robbery suspect as AWIL BILLE MOHAMED, born on [DOB REDACTED], Defendant herein. Defendant’s right index finger was lifted from the coffee lid on the counter near a register, Defendant’s left thumb was lifted from a cardboard coffee cup near a register, and Defendant’s right middle finger was lifted from a sugar container on a counter.
On April 18, 2024, Minneapolis officers arrested Defendant after receiving two other robbery calls from businesses. During the arrest, officers noted that Defendant was wearing a black puffy jacket with a logo on the left sleeve, which matched the jacket from the February 20 robbery. Officers also recovered a gun on Defendant’s person. He later pleaded guilty to Second-Degree Aggravated Robbery for one of these incidents in court file #27-CR-24-8915. In a Miranda statement, Defendant claimed that anyone could have been wearing the same jacket as him.
Defendant said “no” when asked about fingerprints found at the scene. Defendant claimed that the photographs of the suspect were not him but looked like him. Defendant stated that his fingerprints could have been there from before the crime but earlier stated that he could not say for sure whether he had visited the victimized business within the last six months. The State received this case from law enforcement on December 22, 2025. Defendant is not in custody. The State asks that a warrant issue because Defendant has an active probation violation warrant in court file #27-CR-24-8915.
