Staff Writer

In less than an hour, the crime had been committed and the suspects were in custody.

Friday morning, the clerk at Lampley’s BP on U.S. Highway 231, south of Brundidge, reported being robbed at gunpoint.

The call came to the Pike County Sheriff’s Department around 10 a.m. and in less than an hour two Troy men were apprehended and charged after confessing to the crime.

Randale Edward Rogers, 30, and John Gregory, 36, were each charged with one count of first-degree robbery. Bond was set at $50,000 for each man.

When deputies arrived at the convenience store, the clerk said the gunman ­ believed to be Rogers ­ was armed with dark colored handgun, covered with a plastic bag. An undetermined amount of money was taken and the suspect fled the scene, traveling south on Highway 231. Gregory reported remained outside the store.

During the course of the investigation, details were given as to how the suspects had looked at robbing several locations in Troy and Pike County and actually entered a Troy business Friday morning with the intent to rob the business and start a fire with gasoline to create a diversion in their getaway. They did not follow through with that plan.

According to Pike County Sheriff Russell Thomas, while planning the robbery of the BP station, the suspects discussed throwing gasoline on the clerk, but abandoned the plan.

Thomas said his department "did an excellent job in making these arrests and bringing the case to a rapid close.

"The citizens of Pike County should be very proud of these deputies and investigators who devote a lot of time and energy in all criminal cases."

A black Geo Prism, the handgun and some of the money was recovered, Thomas said.

Nobody was injured in the commission of the crime.

The Friday morning incident was the second robbery reported during the week.

Detectives with the Troy Police Department have been looking for a suspect in the Wednesday night robbery of a convenience store on South Brundidge Street.

That incident occurred at approximately 10:30 p.m. when a lone suspect entered the business and demanded money from the clerk. The suspect was armed with a small handgun during the crime.

The clerk reported the suspect, who was described as being five-feet-one in height and weighing approximately 150 pounds, took an undetermined amount of money and fled the scene on foot. Dressed in all-black clothing, the suspect was last seen running north on South Brundidge Street.