Arizona Shake Shack Worker Accused Of Robbing Own Restaurant

An Arizona Shake Shack worker now stands accused of stealing from his own place of business while holding the staff at gunpoint. Keondre Simmons, who is thirty-three years old, allegedly called out for work near midnight on August 3 before returning to the restaurant that morning to carry out the crime. Court papers seen by FOX 10 Phoenix detail this strange sequence of events at the Kierland Commons location in Phoenix.

Police responding to the scene discovered a startling twist when an employee opened a rear delivery door upon hearing a bell, thinking a scheduled shipment had arrived. The suspect immediately pointed a gun at the man and ordered him inside. He then escorted the worker toward a walk-in cooler, forced him in, and locked the door shut.

The on-duty manager was not spared either. Officers said the suspect pushed the manager into an office and demanded he open the store safe. Under threat of the weapon, the manager unlocked it and removed about $2,800 in various denominations. He placed the cash into a black gun case style container that the robber carried before forcing both victims back into the locked cooler together.

Eventually, both men managed to get out of the cold room, only for the suspect to return moments later. He ushered them into the office and ordered them to kneel while keeping his weapon pointed at them. Next, he took their cellphones and the landline phone from the office, then destroyed them by tossing them into a sink filled with water. After that act of violence, he left the business through the same rear delivery door used for supplies.

Investigators later identified Simmons as the person behind this ordeal. Two days after the robbery occurred, he allegedly walked back into the Shake Shack wearing his full work uniform before police arrested him there. He told investigators afterward that he had thrown away the clothes worn during the incident and kept a firearm inside his home.

Simmons now faces serious charges including armed robbery, aggravated assault, and kidnapping. His next court appearance is scheduled for August 25. This case highlights how quickly things can go wrong when employees let their guard down even in familiar surroundings.