Witness helps St. Charles police nab robbery suspect

An alert witness fueled the prompt arrest of a man who had just robbed a St. Charles business Friday, police said Monday.

Police began searching for a “suspicious person” at a hotel on the 4000 block of East Main Street at about 9:42 a.m. Friday. A witness observed a man near a public storage facility with a hood covering his face with a car with license plates that were bent down from easy view.

The witness then observed the man enter the office of the public storage facility only to come running out a short while later. The man then ran to his vehicle in the hotel parking lot.

The witness had continually observed the man and assisted police in locating him in the parking lot. Police identified the man as Brandon D. Wilder, 27, of the 1000 block of East State Street in Geneva.

While questioning Wilder, police were notified by dispatch that the public storage facility had just been robbed by a suspect matching Wilder's description. Police located the moneybag from the facility on the front seat of Wilder's vehicle, arrested him and charged him with robbery.

Wilder will next appear in DuPage County court Nov. 23.