A man brandishing a knife bound a clerk with duct-tape during an attempted convenience-store robbery early this morning in Fountain.
Joseph Donald Krivanek, 25, has been arrested as a suspect in the case, Fountain police said in a media release.
Police described Krivanek as a former employee of the store.
The incident started at about 3 a.m. at 601 S. Santa Fe Ave., when a man wearing a ski mask, armed with a knife, confronted the clerk.
The armed man bound the clerk’s hands and feet with duct tape and told the clerk to lie silently on the floor, police said.
A few minutes later, the masked bandit returned, unbound the victim and fled.
The clerk called police, and a short time afterward, officers stopped a Nissan SUV, based on the victim’s description, in the 500 block of Ray Place.
Officers found a mask, duct tape and a knife in the Nissan and arrested the driver, Krivanek.
Krivanek intended to take money from the store’s safe, police said.
The suspect “apparently got cold feet” and gave up on the robbery without accessing the safe, police said.
Krivanek is being held on suspicion of attempted aggravated robbery. The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges are possible.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
