A 23-year-old Minot man is accused of robbing Game Stop at gunpoint on Thursday morning.

Jordan Lee Ritter is charged with Class B felony robbery, a charge carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, and wearing a mask during commission of a criminal offense, a Class A misdemeanor carrying a maximum sentence of one year in jail and $3,500 in fines. He was scheduled to make an initial appearance in district court in Minot on Friday.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed with the court, the suspect went into the business at 401 40th Avenue SW No. 101 at 11:07 a.m. Thursday, pointed a handgun at an employee, and demanded money. A total of $570 was stolen from the store. The employee said the suspect was in his twenties, around 5 feet tall and had a stocky build. He wore sunglasses, had a covering over the lower part of his face, wore a white hooded sweatshirt which covered the top of his head, dark pants and light colored shoes.

The suspect then drove away from the store in a silver Dodge Neon. The car was caught on video footage. The male was the lone occupant of the vehicle, which police identified as belonging to one of Ritter’s roommates. Ritter’s two roommates identified the driver of the car as Ritter. They told police that Ritter did not have permission to drive the vehicle. Police obtained a search warrant for the apartment where Ritter lived with his girlfriend and roommates. Police found a single bullet when they searched Ritter’s apartment, along with a gray T-shirts that matched the color of the T-shirt Ritter was wearing in surveillance video and a light brown moccasin-style pair of shoes that the suspect was wearing. according to the affidavit. Police also claim that Ritter resembles the suspect in the Game Stop surveillance video. However, they did not recover the clothing, firearm or currency that was stolen.

Ritter was later arrested on an outstanding warrant following a traffic stop. Ritter denied any involvement in the robbery. He claimed he had driven his roommate’s vehicle to go to Burger King earlier in the day and had permission to use the car.

According to the affidavit, Ritter and another person went to Williston in that person’s car shortly after the robbery was reported. Ritter went into his mother’s residence carrying a plastic bag of some sort, his friend told police.

Ritter is also facing two Class A misdemeanors in district court in Minot, possession of a controlled substance and ingesting a controlled substance, both dating back to June 15.

– Andrea Johnson