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Teens charged in gas station robbery

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Police have arrested a high school student and another man accused of robbing a gas station in north Charlotte early Thursday morning.

According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, both of the men held up two employees at the Citgo gas station located along the 4100 block of Statesville Road around 1 a.m.

The CMPD identified the suspects as 17-year-old Carl Bowen and 16-year-old Demario Murphy. 

Murphy is a student at West Charlotte High School, but Bowen is not enrolled within Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.

Police say Bowen and Murphy were armed with a handgun and took money from the cash register.  The Citgo clerks were not injured during the robbery.

When the men ran out of the store, police officers said one of the clerks chased the men and pointed out the suspects' location to cops. 

Police found one suspect running in between some apartments.  After ordering the man to get onto the ground, he was taken into custody.

Officers searched for the second suspect for about an hour before apprehending him down the road.

Both men were charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit and armed robbery.  Bowen also faces an assault with a deadly weapon. 

Murphy is being held on a $35,000 secured bond and Bowen received a $37,250 secured bond.  Both are in the Mecklenburg County Jail.