2 arrested for robbery at convenience store

Two people were arrested Thursday for a robbery earlier this week at a North Lawrence convenience store.

One of the suspects, Joni Marie Ridinger, 18, Lawrence, is a former employee of the Presto Convenience Store, 1030 N. Third St., Lawrence Police spokesman Sgt. Dan Ward said.

Police also arrested a 16-year-old boy, whose name wasn’t released. Police have identified three other suspects – two men and a woman – and more arrests are expected, Ward said.

The robbery occurred about 3:30 a.m. Monday when five people wearing bandanas over their faces entered Presto and took cash and cigarettes. One of the suspects held a female clerk on the floor during the looting, police said.

Formal charges were pending Friday, but Ridinger was booked into the Douglas County Jail on suspicion of aggravated robbery and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery. No details about the arrests were released.