An Austin man who allegedly robbed the Lake Geo Travel Plaza near Dexter on Saturday has been charged in Mower County Court.

Chad Bruce Sabanish, 37, faces five felony charges; second-degree aggravated robbery, simple robbery, theft, theft of a motor vehicle, and fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle. He is scheduled to enter his plea April 28.

Sabanish is accused of stealing a black 2001 Chevy S10 blazer from Budget Oil on Friday. The vehicle was running and the owner was pumping air into the rear right tire when it was stolen, Police Chief Brian Krueger said.

The vehicle was later spotted at Kwik Trip on Fourth Street SW around 1 a.m. Saturday morning, when Sabanish allegedly drove off without paying for gas. Austin police and Mower County Sheriff’s deputies responded to Lake Geo Travel Plaza for the robbery just hours after the gas drive-off, around 7 a.m.

Sabanish allegedly entered the Travel Plaza wearing a black ski mask and passed the cashier a note telling her to hand over the money and everything would be OK. She gave him the money, about $220.

Sabanish then allegedly drove toward Dexter. An Austin officer spotted the SUV as he was responding to the robbery and followed it, which resulted in a chase exceeding speeds of 80 mph and involved five squad cars, until Sabanish went into the ditch near the T-intersection on County Road 16. He was not injured.