T-L Photo/CARRI GRAHAM The Dollar General store in Martins Ferry was robbed at gunpoint Thursday night. A suspect was arrested in connection to the robbery Friday afternoon. Arrest made in Dollar General robbery

By CARRI GRAHAM

Times Leader Staff Writer

MARTINS FERRY — Police rammed an alleged getaway vehicle to stop and arrest a man accused in the Thursday night armed robbery of the Dollar General store in Martins Ferry.

City Police Chief John McFarland said a man from the Canton, Ohio, area was arrested Friday afternoon.

“With a big giant help of the Wheeling Police Department, the Martins Ferry officers were able to get a complete confession into the armed robbery last night,” he said in a news release.

The driver, Michael Blackmon, 38, was arrested in Wheeling and charged with felony fleeing.

The robbery occurred around 9:30 p.m. Thursday at the Dollar General store on Broadway Street. The store just opened last month, changing locations.

McFarland said by reviewing the store’s surveillance footage, law enforcement observed a man wearing a bandanna over his face as he approached the store’s cashier with a handgun and demanded money.

“Based on the surveillance footage that we were able to gather, a male entered the store with a bandanna covering his face like you would see with anyone else due to the coronavirus. He went to the counter to purchase something and once the clerk opened the register door to receive payment, the male pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the clerk,” he said.

McFarland said after the cashier gave the suspect the contents of the register, he then fled the store with an undisclosed amount of money.

Officials are still working on calculating the exact amount of money that was taken during the robbery, he said.

The suspect was described as a black male, approximately 6 feet tall with a “stocky build.”

McFarland said the department is working alongside the Wheeling Police Department in the case.