6/19/12 - Nicholas Payne, age 20, of 1029 Wards Gap Road was taken into custody by the Patrick County Sheriff's Office in connection with the robbery of Blue Mountain Petroleum in Ararat.
Cana man arrested in store robbery
by Staff Report Mount Airy News
Source: Mt. Airy News
STUART, Va. — A Cana man has been arrested in connection with a recent robbery in Ararat.
Nicholas Seth Payne, 20, of 1029 Wards Gap Road, was taken into custody Thursday after an investigation by the Patrick County Sheriff’s Office.
The robbery occurred on May 29, when Payne allegedly entered Blue Mountain Petroleum (formerly J.E.B. Stuart Grocery) on Ararat Highway near the North Carolina border.
After lingering around the store for a time, the suspect picked up a jar from the counter and threw it at a cashier, Sheriff Dan Smith has said.
He then allegedly grabbed the cash register containing an undisclosed sum and fled from the store. No injuries resulted from what Smith has termed a strong-arm robbery.
The Cana man subsequently was linked to the crime by Investigator Nick Pendleton, who handled the case and was the arresting officer.
Payne, who is charged with felony second-degree grand larceny, is being held in the Patrick County Jail without privilege of bond.
A preliminary hearing is set for July 20 in the case.
