FROM STAFF REPORTS

Three suspects face charges in connection with the armed robbery of two convenience stores in Mooresville early Friday morning.

The Mooresville Police Department announced the arrests of Anthony Dwayne Turner, Xavier Lamar Poteat and Brittany Nicole Blackwood, all of Statesville, in a news release Friday afternoon.

According to the MPD news release, two men armed with a handgun entered the BP/Rushco store at 108 Brawley School Road at 2:21 a.m. Friday and demanded money from the clerk.

The suspects fled the store on foot and were briefly tracked by police K9s, according to the news release.

At 3:43 a.m., two men entered the Circle K, located at 354 South Main Street, with firearms, went behind the counter, and emptied both cash registers, police said.

The suspects fled on foot before they were picked up by a vehicle, police said.

Officer Manzano and other responding officers tracked the suspects up U.S. Highway 21 into Troutman, where they were stopped with the assistance of Iredell County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Troutman police officers, according to the news release.

Two firearms, cash, and cigars of the same brand stolen were recovered, police said.

Turner, 22, was charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery, two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, and possession of a firearm by a felon. He received a $350,000 secured bond.

Poteat, 19, was charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery, two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, and carrying a concealed weapon. He received a $300,000 secured bond.

Blackwood, 33, was charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery and two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon. She received a $300,000 secured bond.