CONWAY – Lucky? Perhaps not.

Mario Antonio Luckey, 30, of Baltimore, MD was taken into custody by the Conway Police here Wednesday night less than 25 minutes after an armed robbery occurred at the Park-N-Shop convenience store, located at 210 East Main Street.

Meanwhile, Conway Police Chief Billy Wayne Duke said a second suspect involved in the robbery remains at large.

Luckey stands charged with one felony count of armed robbery with a dangerous weapon. He remains behind bars in the Northampton County Detention Center under a $100,000 bond, despite a plea from his attorney to lower that amount during Luckey’s first appearance in Northampton County District Court on Thursday morning.

Duke said that around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, two men entered the Park-N-Shop and immediately made their way to the check-out counter. With one suspect brandishing a handgun, the clerk at the counter was ordered to open the cash register.

“By this time the suspects were behind the counter; one reached inside the register and removed the entire cash tray,” Duke said. “They also stole cigarettes. They were in and out of the store in less than two minutes.”

In addition to the counter clerk, there was one other employee and two customers in the store at the time of the robbery. Duke said no one was injured.

Upon the departure of the suspects from the store, Duke said one of the clerks called the police to report the armed robbery.

Conway Police Officer Joe Burgess was on duty. Duke said Burgess immediately responded to the store at which time he was able to obtain a description of the suspects and then contacted the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office for assistance in helping to locate the robbers.

A few minutes later, Burgess received a call on his cell phone from a town resident living on Hundley Circle, located behind (north) of the convenience store, reporting a suspicious person.

“As Officer Burgess was turning off (US) 158 (Main Street) onto Hundley Circle, he saw a person matching the description of what he heard from the citizen,” Duke said. “As he exited his vehicle and was approaching the suspect, the suspect fled east in the direction of Conway Middle School.”

Duke added that Burgess returned to his patrol car and drove to the school. There, according to Duke, two town citizens were standing near the front entrance of the school and were pointing towards an adjacent residence where they saw the suspect run and take cover.

“Officer Burgess was able to locate suspect in the yard of that residence where he placed him under arrest without any resistance,” Duke reported.

By that time, a K-9 unit from the Hertford County Sheriff’s Office had arrived and began to search for the second suspect. That person was not located, but Duke said the dog was able to sniff out a portion of the stolen cash as well as a handgun. Those items were found in the yard of a residence at 310 East Main Street. The handgun, according to Duke, was found in the driveway.

Duke said that although Luckey’s identification shows him with a Baltimore address, he confessed to the police that he was staying with some friends in Murfreesboro.

“However, he would not share the names of those friends, nor the address,” Duke said.

Those with information regarding the second suspect – reportedly a black male, standing approximately 5’-10” and weighing around 170-180 pounds – is asked to contact the Conway Police at 252-585-1155 or 252-585-0488.