Cudahy man charged in ice cream shop robbery

A 43-year-old Cudahy man, Raymond Morrison, has been charged with two counts of robbery in connection with an ice cream store robbery in the heart of Bay View, according to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office.

After Morrison allegedly punched her in the chest and knocked her to the floor at 8:17 p.m. Tuesday, July 3, Christine Cruz, co-owner of Babe's Ice Cream & Desserts, followed him out the door of her shop, 2264 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., and started screaming.

"I started yelling, 'Help! Call 911! He just robbed me,' and I'm pointing at him," Cruz said.

Across the street at Cafe Lulu, a crowd of about 40 customers at the restaurant's Two-Wheel Tuesday night were gathered on the sidewalk.

"He walked past Schwartz bookstore and Riviera Maya, and at the crosswalk, he turned around and realized I was screaming and yelling," Cruz said. "I didn't know if he had a gun; I didn't know if he had a weapon."

Cruz said Morrison then ran across South Kinnickinnic Avenue, dodging oncoming traffic as horns began to blare.

As people in the crowd began shouting across the street to Cruz, she said: "All I hear is, 'Help is on the way, help is on the way!'"

Cruz said she soon realized the people outside Cafe Lulu were chasing the suspect and trying to block his access to the parking lot next to the cafe.

South Shore NOW could not confirm whether those people actually apprehended the suspect, or whether police responding to a 911 call caught him.

Police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz said the suspect arrested July 3 was armed with a knife.

Morrison also is being questioned about an armed robbery that occurred at Broad Vocabulary, 2241 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., just before 8 p.m. June 21. In that incident, a woman in the bookstore was forced to the floor by a robber carrying a box cutter.

"People really helped me and I wish I knew who they are," Cruz said. "I just want to say thank-you, thank-you, thank-you."

The maximum sentence for robbery is 40 years in prison.

Nan Bialek can be reached at amuehlbauer@cninow.com or (262) 446-6632.