“This concocted incident instilled fear in our community and used up police time and resources that could have been dedicated elsewhere.”
An employee and his son are accused of staging the armed robbery of a downtown Cava restaurant location, police said.
Scott Douglas, 36, and his son Nikolas Lao, 19, both of Charlestown, were arrested Friday and are each charged with larceny over $1,200 and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Douglas is facing additional charges of filing a false crime report and withholding evidence from a criminal proceeding.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden identified the pair as stepfather and son, but a report by Boston police say the two are father and son.
“We too often see employees who think they can fool police and their employers for their own illicit gain but end up fooling only themselves,” Hayden said. “This concocted incident instilled fear in our community and used up police time and resources that could have been dedicated elsewhere.”
Police initially responded to the Cava restaurant at 125 Summer Street on Dec. 29 around 10:30 p.m. The employee, later identified as Douglas, told police that a man brandished a large assault rifle, instructed him to walk toward the safe, and took around $1,800, a police report said.