Police: Man armed with machete arrested after refusing to leave gas station

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - A suspect is behind bars after police say he threatened people with a machete at a Sioux Falls convenience store.

Forty-five-year-old Lashawn King Owens of Sioux Falls was arrested Monday afternoon, according to police spokesperson Sam Clemens.

Clemens said Owens was bothering people outside a gas station on W. Russell Street and Kiwanis Avenue, then went inside and began loitering in the casino area. Employees told him to leave, but he refused.

Eventually, Owens pulled up his shirt and revealed a concealed machete, and threatened people in the store. Clemens said he then left the store, and was found by officers a short time later. No one was injured during the incident.

Owens is charged with aggravated assault, failure to vacate, and carrying a concealed weapon.