McCORDSVILLE — Prosecutors have filed charges against two men police say were involved with the robbery of a local gas station earlier this month.
Anthony Lopez, 23, 1946 U.S. 40 West, Greencastle, and Leobardo Sanchez, 20, 268 N. Elder Ave., Indianapolis, entered the Village Pantry in McCordsville overnight Nov. 6 and demanded money from the woman working behind the store counter, police said.
Lopez pointed a gun at the woman and threatened to shoot her if she didn’t provide them money, according to court documents. He and Sanchez then fled from the gas station, 5964 W. Broadway St., and robbed a second gas station in nearby Lawrence before being arrested in Greenfield after a brief car chase, police said.
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The pair now faces criminal allegations locally and in Marion County, records show.
In Hancock County, Lopez faces one Level 3 felony count of armed robbery; one Level 5 felony count of intimidation; and one Level 5 felony count of a felon carrying a handgun, according to court records.
Sanchez faces a Level 3 felony count of aiding in an armed robbery and a Level 4 felony count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, records show.
They each face charges of robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm in Marion County, records show.
Police were called to the Village Pantry around midnight after gas station employees called 911 to report the robbery.
The store clerk told investigators she watched Lopez and Sanchez enter and walk to the back of the store, where they lingered until all other shoppers had left.
Then, they approached the counter, and Lopez pulled out a revolver and pointed it at the woman, demanding money, according to police reports.
The woman told police Lopez acted aggressively, telling her “open the drawer, or I’ll shoot you,” court document state.
The woman said she was frightened and struggled to open the register, and Lopez became agitated and said to his accomplice, “I’m going to shoot her,” court documents state.
Sanchez helped the woman open the drawer, handing her a lighter from atop the counter to scan so the register would pop open, court documents state.
Once the woman had handed over the money in the cash register, the suspects fled from the store, court documents state.
Two brothers who exited the store around the same time Lopez and Sanchez entered told police they were standing near the counter when the men came inside. They noticed immediately the two men were acting suspiciously, court documents state.
Because they regularly visited the gas station and were friendly with its employees, the brothers had told the clerk prior to the robbery they would stay in the parking lot until the two men left, court documents state.
The brothers sat in their car and near the front of the store and watched as Lopez and Sanchez ran from the gas station, court documents state. They gave statements to police about what they saw, records show.
After Lopez and Sanchez left the McCordsville gas station, they reportedly entered a second gas station on 56th Street in Indianapolis — about five miles from the McCordsville gas station — and demanded money there. Lawrence police chased the suspects’ car as it fled from that second location and crossed into Hancock County, court documents state.
The chase ended near the intersection of State Road 9 and Innovations Way in Greenfield, where Lopez and Sanchez were arrested, according to court documents. Police matched video footage from inside the Village Pantry to photographs of the two suspects arrested in Greenfield to identify Lopez and Sanchez.
Both men are currently being held in the Marion County Jail awaiting trial on the robbery charges they faces from the incident in Lawrence, records show. An initial court date has not yet been for them to appear in Hancock County.