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OVER-THE-RHINE 
 � DNA from a straw has lead to an arrest in a violent robbery at a restaurant and bar that prompted it to close last year.

Shannon Darnell Howard, 25, of Dayton was booked into the Hamilton County jail about 2 p.m. Thursday on two counts of aggravated robbery and one count each of kidnapping and safecracking.

He is held in lieu of $305,000 bond and will make his first court appearance before a judge this morning.

According to court records, Howard and two other men came into Grammer�s Bar, 1440 Walnut St. in Over-the-Rhine, on August 6.

All three ordered vodka and cranberry juice, sipping their drinks through straws.

Once everyone else in the bar went outside to smoke, the men whipped out handguns. They demanded cash, car keys and cell phones from the manager and a bartender, records state.

With a gun pointed at his head, the bartender was ordered from the bar to the first floor meeting room and then into the second floor manager�s office, where he was forced to open the safe.

Once the safe was open and the suspects had the cash, the gunmen forced the manager to destroy the computer they suspected had just captured their images.

The trio swiped two bottles of vodka and ran out.

Cincinnati Police Detective Patrick J . Galligan collected the men�s straws and gathered DNA evidence off them used to link Howard to the heist, court records show.

It was not immediately clear this morning if anyone else has been arrested or charged in the case.

The robbery prompted the operator of Grammer�s to briefly shut down, saying he could not guarantee the safety of his staff, who he said feared for their lives.

The venue reopened in September. It is now open for private parties and special events only.

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http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20120608/NEWS/306080045/


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