Speedway clerk charged with fabricating robbery

4/2/2005

A clerk at the Speedway near the Woodville Mall was arrested yesterday after fabricating a robbery in late February in order to steal $4,000 from the gas station, Lake Township police Chief Mark Hummer said.

Michael D. Wilson, 30, of 1509 Buckeye St., Genoa, who was charged with theft, obstructing justice, and tampering with evidence, was arraigned yesterday in Perrysburg Municipal Court.

Mr. Wilson, who was a clerk at the gas station, 4661 Woodville Rd., for about six months, told police he was approached by a man in the parking lot before the business opened Feb. 28. He said the man forced him into the gas station to open the safe, and said the man fled with the money and the business' surveillance tapes.

Police said Mr. Wilson refused to take a lie-detector test. He later confessed to fabricating the robbery story after police questioned him further.

He is free on his own recognizance. If convicted, Mr. Wilson faces a maximum punishment of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine for tampering with evidence and up to 12 months in prison and a $2,500 fine for theft and obstructing justice.