A Saint Paul man is accused of slapping a stranger he said was blowing marijuana smoke in his face at a light rail platform and walking off with their vape, according to a criminal complaint.
Danny Scott Tanner, 57, faces felony charges of first-degree aggravated robbery and simple robbery. The complaint was filed Oct. 12 in Ramsey County District Court, and bail was set at $100,000.
According to the complaint, Metro Transit officers responded at about 1:47 p.m. on Oct. 9 to a robbery near Robert Street in Saint Paul and found two people arguing on the eastbound platform at the Capitol/Rice Street station.
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The person told officers they had been smoking a vape when Tanner, whom they did not know, walked up, yelled that they were blowing marijuana smoke in his face and hit them on the forehead with an open hand, the complaint says. Their phone and vape fell to the ground, and Tanner picked up the vape and boarded a westbound train. They followed him.
Officers saw a red mark on the person’s forehead and found the vape in Tanner’s pocket. Tanner told officers something to the effect that nobody can blow weed smoke in his face, said he did not hit the person hard and said that if officers wanted to arrest him for taking the vape, he did take it, according to the complaint.
The aggravated robbery count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $35,000 fine or both, according to the complaint.
