DeKALB | A man with a mask and a toy gun first failed to scare employees into re-opening their store for a robbery Saturday, then failed to keep police from chasing him down and arresting him.

DeKalb police responded to a call of an attempted armed robbery at the DeKalb Currency Exchange, 1504 Sycamore Road, at 4:25 p.m., finding that the suspect had already fled the scene in a vehicle, according to a police report.

The victim gave police a description of the vehicle and police pursued the suspect north on Sycamore Road. Officers located the vehicle in the 2500 block of Sycamore Road, but the suspect ignored lights and sirens and fled through a parking lot and then proceeded southward on Sycamore Road.

The suspect’s vehicle collided with a squad car near the corner of Fourth Street and Pond Street. The suspect then tried to flee on foot, but only managed to get about 50 feet from the accident before an officer tackled him to the ground, according to a police statement.

Police said that the accident resulted in only minor damage to both vehicles and no injuries.

The investigation that followed revealed that a masked suspect threatened the victim as he sat in his car outside the currency exchange by putting the toy gun to his head and then forcing him to the front door of the store, which had closed 20 minutes earlier. According to Police Chief Bill Feithen, the victim was waiting for one of the employees to finish at work to give him a ride home. The suspect fled the scene after employees refused to open the door.

“They did the correct thing,” Feithen said. “Had it been a real gun, there would have been more people in jeopardy.”

Police arrested Donte D. Parker, 30, of DeKalb. Parker faces felony charges of attempted aggravated robbery, unlawful restraint, aggravated fleeing and eluding and misdemeanor charges of failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, driving on a suspended driver’s license, improper lane usage and operating an uninsured vehicle, DeKalb County Corrections said. In addition, Parker was arrested for outstanding warrants for failing to appear in court on charges of cannabis possession, driving with a suspended license and delivering cocaine, according to a police statement.

Parker is currently being held at the DeKalb County Jail, with a bond hearing scheduled today.