Two armed robberies in Humboldt; suspect apprehended

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), Humboldt Police Department (HPD) and associated law enforcement agencies spent late Thursday morning searching for a white male who is a suspect in two armed robberies that occurred earlier that morning, Dec. 18. According to HCSO Deputy Cory Lampe a suspect believed to be a white male, 6-2 to 6-3 in height, weighing 250-275 pounds, entered the Hy-Vee Wine and Spirits store approximately 10:20 a.m. Thursday and demanded money. He was displaying a hunting knife, Lampe said. Approximately 50 minutes later, around 11:10 a.m., the same man entered the Crossroads Cenex store and again demanded money while displaying a weapon. He was last seen traveling on foot east and north of the Humboldt Crossroads store. The man was reportedly wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants and black tennis shoes and also was wearing a black ski mask covering his face from the nose to the chin. Law enforcement authorities were concentrating their search in the wooded areas south of the Humboldt Cenex and east of the Humboldt South Water Tower on Ridgewood Drive. “As a precautionary measure, all schools in Humboldt County have been put on lock down,” Deputy Lampe said. By early Thursday afternoon, the lockdown was lifted as local law enforcement had reason to believe that the suspect had left the area. At 1:14 p.m., the Fort Dodge Police Department responded to a robbery at the Fort Dodge Days Inn Motel at 3040 5th Avenue South. The man matched the description of the suspect from the robberies earlier Thursday morning in Humboldt. The robber did not display a knife but did threaten to use a gun, although no gun was shown, according to police. The man left empty-handed. Fort Dodge Police also responded to the downtown Sinclair station at 315 2nd Avenue South, for a report of a suspicious man. Police were able to gain a description of the vehicle from surveillance tapes. Shortly after 2:30 p.m., a Fort Dodge Police reserve officer arrested Kaleb Lenning, 20, of Humboldt. Lenning was charged with second-degree burglary in Webster County, and is being held in the Webster County Jail. He is expected to be charged for the robberies in Humboldt County. There were no injuries to any employees at either of the locations in Humboldt. The HCSO and HPD were assisted by the Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office and tactical team, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Pocahontas County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa State Patrol. They will be cooperating with Webster County Law Enforcement in questioning the suspect and the possible filing of charges in the crimes. Check www.humboldtnews.com and the Dec. 25 edition of The Humboldt Independent for further details.