Man charged in Springfield bomb threat robbery

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- Police charged a man Friday afternoon in connection to the phoned-in bomb threat used to rob a Springfield deli earlier this week, Springfield Police Department said.

Early Sunday morning (Aug. 19th) a man threatened to detonate a homemade explosive left inside of Patty's Deli on Olympic St. if the clerk didn't leave money outside in the parking lot. The employee put money outside the business before calling the authorities. 

An investigation into the robbery lead police to connect Jesse William Day with the incident. Police located Day in west Eugene, where they took him into custody. He faces second degree robbery charges for involvement in the Patty's Deli robbery.

Authorities recognized that the incident is not your typical robbery.

"I've been a police officer for almost 22 years here and this is the just first time I've heard it be used as a robbery," said Sgt. Tom Rappe with the Springfield Police Department.

Authorities said there are similarities to this robbery and two others that have happened recently in the area.

"Eugene had two similar calls like this last week, so we believe he is probably a Eugene/Springfield resident," Sgt. Rappe said. 

SPD said that the investigation is ongoing, they asked anyone with information about the robbery to call the Department at 541-726-3714.