Area convenience store robbed at gunpoint by two masked men

Two masked men robbed a Dollar General in Lincoln County at gunpoint Saturday night, fleeing with $2,000 in cash and cigarettes.

The robbery occurred at 975 Highway 550 NW right before 9 p.m., “about a minute before closing,” said Shanti Nettles, 28, one of two Dollar General workers on duty when the robbery occurred.

The suspects walked into the manager’s office where money was being counted for the night and demanded one of the clerks put the money in a bag, Nettles said. The men also demanded the workers’ wallets and cell phones, according to Nettles.

One of the men was holding a revolver, said Nettles, who recalled she was robbed at gunpoint two years ago while working at a gas station.

She remembers one of the men Saturday night saying, “Hurry up, we don’t have all night.”

Both men were wearing black “Scream” masks, and black T-shirts, the workers reported. One suspect wore blue jeans and the other wore black shorts, according to the workers.

The suspects reportedly took $2,000 in cash and a carton of Newports.

The two men fled the store in a pickup truck, said Lincoln County Sheriff Steve Rushing. It is not known what direction the men were traveling. Eyewitness accounts suggest the getaway vehicle was a blue or white truck.

“It was pulled up alongside the store, so I couldn’t get a good look at it,” said Nettles of the getaway vehicle.

Rushing said investigators are still in the process of confirming the facts, including what color the getaway vehicle was.

Nettles speculated the two men were in their late 20s to early 30s. Both men were African-American, she said.

Rushing and other investigators are also examining videotape from the store in hopes it will provide more information.

“We’ll have more to report soon. Right now, we are conducting our own investigation,” said Rushing.

The Lincoln County sheriff’s office responded to the call at 9:15 p.m.

Other than the two clerks, no one else was in the store at the time of the robbery.

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