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A man and woman from Lenoir are in custody, charged in a pair of armed robberies last week in the Caldwell County city.
The suspects are identified by Lenoir police as Anthony Paul Velasquez, 29, and Crystal Jean Barnes, 20.
They were taken into custody in the early-morning hours last Friday during a traffic stop. Police say they had identified the two as suspects with help from the Granite Falls police. Lenoir detectives say they recovered a firearm used in the robberies and other evidence.
Velasquez was charged with two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, and Barnes was charged with two counts of accessory after the fact.
Police say Barnes was the getaway driver in the two cases.
The first robbery happened last Wednesday at the Fast Track Store on Connelly Springs Road. Police say a man wearing a dark-colored hooded shirt grabbed the cash drawer from the register and fled while pointing a gun at the clerk. The man fled in a vehicle.
Last Thursday, a man wearing a dark-colored hooded shirt robbed the Jack in the Box restaurant on Blowing Rock Boulevard. Once again, the suspect grabbed the cash drawer at the drive-through window and fled in a vehicle -- the same car that was used in the Fast Track robbery, police say.
