Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for August 2, 2007 MORE ON FATAL ROBBERY

Owners of Brown Bag Video Store Speak Out

By: CJ Cassidy

MCCLURE, Il. - What happened inside Brown Bag Video? The owners lay out the details for us.

Michael Fencel, 25, of Mounds now faces charges of murder, armed robbery, and aggravated battery with a firearm.

Police arrested him in Ottawa, Illinois where his mother lives Tuesday night.

Investigators say Fencel robbed the the Brown Bag video store after shooting and killing Charles Caldwell of Cairo and injuring the store clerk.

The owners of the store say they're in shock. They say they helped raised Michael Fencel. He even worked at the store, so they never expected him to turn on them.

The owners said they recognized Fencel from surveillance video, but he also allegedly left behind some telltale signs. A telephone wire hidden behind the store was cut, and the owners said only someone who worked at the store would know where it was.

"We know him very well. He used to live with us. He's been a long time family friend," said Diane Weber, the store manager.

Still, Weber knew about Michael Fencel's run-ins with police.

I actually met Fencel two years ago.

At the time, he claimed he couldn't find his dad after Hurricane Katrina.

Weber said Fencel hadn't seen his dad in years, and just enjoyed getting people's sympathy.

After a falling out with Fencel last year, Weber didn't hear from him again, until he allegedly showed up this week at Brown Bag Video.

That's where police say Fencel gunned down 30-year-old customer Charles Caldwell as he robbed the store.

"When he started firing shots at Charles he was trying to catch his balance and knocked over these racks when he was falling...a shot went through the candy machine," Weber pointed out at the scene.

She also said when the clerk on duty came storming out of the bathroom, Fencel allegedly demanded money out of the register.

"When he was bent over checking on Charles that's when the suspect shot the store clerk. He laid down, pretended to be dead. The suspect went behind the counter at that point took the tape out," she said.

Weber said little did Fencel know, they had more than one surveillance camera rolling.

"When he worked here we only had the one. He wasn't aware of the other ones," she said.

Now Weber and owner Robert Thompson mourn the loss of a friend as they recover from the violent crime that rocked their lives.

"Just because we're an adult video store, this happens in schools, post offices, you can't control humans just the way they are. Things happen. We are so sorry it happened at our place," Thompson said.

Thompson said he's very grateful to police for their quick actions.

Fencel is being held in an Ottawa, Illinois, jail on $1,000,000 bond.

From The Ottawa Times...

MURDER SUSPECT: Man allegedly shoots 2 in robbery

by TAMMIE SLOUP

A former Ottawa man who allegedly shot and killed a customer during a robbery in Southern Illinois early Tuesday was arrested later that night by Ottawa police.

Michael Fencel, 25, of Mounds, is in custody at the La Salle County Jail and is charged in Alexander County with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and armed robbery in connection with a deadly robbery at the Brown Bag Video II store in East Cape Girardeau.

According to Illinois State Police District 22, police received a 911 call at 1:28 a.m. regarding a shooting at the store. A customer, 30-year-old Charles A. Caldwell, of Cairo, was shot during the robbery, and later died in a hospital. A clerk also was shot and wounded.

Fencel, originally from Ottawa, was pulled over by an Ottawa patrol officer on Ottawa Avenue Tuesday night after someone called in a tip that he was in the area.

Ottawa Police Capt. Mike Kessinger said someone from the area knew who he was, heard what had happened in regard to the robbery and saw Fencel driving. The tipster called in a description of the vehicle to police, who already suspected the former Ottawan would be heading back to town, where he still has family.

Fencel's mother, Loretta Totten, 54, of Ottawa, was arrested on a non-related charge Wednesday for failure to appear in court regarding payments. Totten was convicted in 1988 of state benefits fraud and had been making restitution payments since, according to court records. She was taken to the La Salle County Jail, where she posted $150 cash bond Wednesday and was released.

Fencel was questioned at the Ottawa Police Department by state police and taken to the La Salle County Jail. He likely will be transported to Alexander County. He does not face any charges in La Salle County.

"We had an idea he would be coming this way and we were already on the lookout," Kessinger said.

Fencel was arrested without incident.

According to Illinois Secretary of State records, the president of both the Brown Bag stores is listed as Richard Thompson.

Fencel is being held on a $1 million bond.

Fencel's criminal history in La Salle County includes convictions of retail theft, intimidation, two counts of battery, trespass, disorderly conduct and unlawful use of a knife.

The case is being investigated by the Illinois State Police, Alexander County Sheriff's Office, the Cape Girardeau Police Department and Ottawa police.

Staff writer Dan Churney contributed to this article