Tulsa Police arrest robbery suspect

A man accused of posing as a police officer, then, robbing the stores he pretended to investigate, is behind bars. <br><br>When the officers confronted him, Danny West threatened to kill himself with

Wednesday, August 7th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A man accused of posing as a police officer, then, robbing the stores he pretended to investigate, is behind bars.

When the officers confronted him, Danny West threatened to kill himself with a disposable razor. News on Six crime reporter Lori Fullbright says when this man went into the Ross dress store on July 12th, he was cool as a cucumber when he announced he was a police officer, checking out a case of employee embezzlement.

Detectives believe so many customers spooked him because he left shortly after talking to the store manager. Less than an hour later, he used the same story at the Toys R Us store, this time though; he handcuffed the manager and took off with a handful of money.

Police say fingerprints from that store led them to Danny West, they suspect him in half a dozen other robberies in Tulsa, and say his MO is different every time. Tulsa Police detective Bob Little, â€œSometimes he uses a con game, sometimes he wore a mask, sometimes he went in bare faced, he varies."

Warrants officers picked West up Wednesday. "He was holding a razor to his neck and in fact, cut himself and was taken to a hospital but, he's been treated and released." Police say they'll be conducting more lab tests and photo line-ups to see whether West is the robber in other cases. They say in the short-term, their paperwork will increase, but in the long run, the robbery rate will decrease.

Detectives suspect West in six to eight robberies in Tulsa from June 16th until this month, all of them are businesses; some were pharmacies where drugs and cash were also taken.