Two charged in Benton, Mo., convenience store robbery

Two people were charged Thursday in the robbery of a convenience store near Benton, Mo.

Michael C. Schneider, 19, of Rosendale, Mo., and Nicole M. Nichols, 17, of Gower, Mo., were charged with first-degree robbery and armed criminal action, according to Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter. The couple is in custody at the Scott County Jail awaiting arraignment.

Walter said that around 7:20 p.m. Wednesday, a man wearing a black cowboy hat and a black jacket entered a convenience store near Benton, and demanded cash from the attendant, threatening her with a revolver.

Leaving the store with an undisclosed amount of cash, the suspect got into a white sedan, occupied by a woman, and fled the scene.

An employee had taken down a partial license plate number, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol spotted the vehicle on Interstate 55 shortly after 8 p.m.

After a short chase and disabling of the vehicle tires, the suspect vehicle was stopped. Schneider and Nichols were taken in to custody.

The vehicle and two firearms inside the vehicle, one of which was used in the robbery, were reported stolen from Andrew County, Mo., on Dec. 8.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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