Three charged in 2011 armed robbery at Wendy's in Rib Mountain

Wausau Daily Herald

WAUSAU - Three men have been charged nearly six years after employees at a Wendy’s in the town of Rib Mountain were bound with duct tape and threatened with a gun during an armed robbery.

Zachary Moore, 25, Ademus Saecho, 26, and Matthew Robine, 33, were each charged with armed robbery, kidnapping and false imprisonment in connection with the Aug. 8, 2011, robbery, according to criminal complaints filed in Marathon County.

The employees arrived at the Wendy’s at about 6 a.m. and were confronted by two masked men who rushed out of the cooler, yelled, “Get down the ground! Face down,” and bound them with duct tape, the complaint said. The masked men pointed a gun at one of the employees, a manager, and forced her to open a safe, then shoved her back to the floor before taking the money inside.

The employees managed to free themselves and call police after the two masked men left the restaurant, the complaint said. The manager estimated between $6,000 and $7,000 was lost in the robbery.

The employees told police one of the suspects was armed with a handgun and wearing a ski mask designed to look like a “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle,” while the other was wearing a black ski mask.

Moore was interviewed by a detective on Aug. 4, 2016, and described waiting in a car outside the Wendy’s while Saecho and Robine went inside during the robbery, the complaint said. Moore said Robine told him he used a screwdriver to get in the drive-thru window and let Saecho in the restaurant.

The next hearing in Moore’s case is a review hearing scheduled for July 25, according to court records. Saecho and Robine don’t have hearings scheduled.

The Wendy's involved in the robbery burned down in 2013 and was later replaced by a Panda Express.

Chris Mueller: 715-345-2251 or christopher.mueller@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter @AtChrisMueller.