An Austin man who allegedly robbed the Lake Geo Travel Plaza near Dexter on April 16 has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

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.

Sabanish is accused of stealing a black 2001 Chevy S10 blazer from Budget Oil the day before the Lake Geo robbery. The vehicle was running and the owner was pumping air into the rear right tire when it was stolen, according to a court complaint.

The vehicle was later spotted at Kwik Trip on Fourth Street SW around 1 a.m. on April 16, 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 $220 out of the cash register.

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 involving five squad cars, until Sabanish went into the ditch near the T-intersection on County Road 16. He was not injured.

Sabanish’s jury trial is set to begin July 25 in Mower County Court.