On January 12, 2012, at about 10 a.m., officers responded to Advance America at 2023 West 41st Street in reference to an armed robbery that had just occurred. Initial information was that a black male, 6' 3" with a thin build, wearing a black stocking-style hat, and late 30s in age, had entered the business through the main entrance, displayed a handgun to the clerk/cashier, and took an undetermined amount of cash currency from the business. The suspect fled the business on foot.

Upon arrival of the initial police units, the business was secured, contact was made with employees, and the business was cleared by officers ensuring that no suspects remained inside the business and that no injuries or additional danger was present. Additional units, arriving in the area shortly thereafter, divided the perimeter into sectors searching for the suspect as Sioux Falls police detectives arrived to assist in the investigation.

The subsequent investigation revealed that the suspect was additionally described as wearing faded blue jean pants, had medium/dark skin color, and was additionally wearing a dark-colored scarf over the majority of his face and dark-colored gloves. It is believed that the suspect exited out the main entrance door where he had entered and continued running on foot southbound in the 1900 block of South Hawthorne Avenue.

Additional SFPD units, including the SD Highway Patrol, assisted in further checking the area and a report of a possible suspect vehicle was called in from a passerby traveling north from West 41st Street on South Western Avenue. This vehicle was subsequently stopped at about East 26th Street/I-229, but was found not to be the suspect and was subsequently released without further incident. As of the time of this report, the suspect was not located and remains at large. The clerk/cashier was not injured during the incident, and it appears that the business will likely remain closed for the remainder of today. The investigation continues.