MAPLEWOOD, Mo. – A man is behind bars after he reportedly used a fake gun to steal dog food from a Maplewood Schnucks store.

Prosecutors have charged Gerold Hopkins, 42, with one count of first-degree robbery in the case. The robbery happened on June 10 at the Schnucks location in the 7300 block of Manchester Road.

The store manager told police that Hopkins walked inside the store, picked up a bag of dog food and started walking toward the parking lot with the intention of stealing it. The manager reportedly confronted Hopkins and told him to return the item and leave.

After that, Hopkins allegedly told the manager he had a gun and pulled out what the manager initially believed was one. He got away with the dog food and started taking off on a bicycle.

Police responded to the Schnucks shortly after that, then traced the location of Hopkins. After stopping him, deputies notices a bag of dog food inside his backpack, in addition to a staple gun wrapped with black electrical tape.

“If you need food for your dog, you have to have a better plan than taping up a staple gun to look like a gun and trying to pull off a fake armed robbery,” said St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell. “We won’t tolerate people waving a fake weapon in a place of business in an attempt to rob them. And I can commend this alert store manager for they way he handled this situation – by the grace of God this incident didn’t end tragically.”

Hopkins is jailed in St. Louis County on a $100,000 cash-only bond. If convicted, he could spend up to 30 years in prison on the robbery charge.