Two Ironton police officers stopped an alleged robbery in progress this morning.

IPD’s Capt. Gary Brown and patrolman James Akers responded to a silent alarm at 3:35 a.m. at the Speedway gas station, 808 Park Ave.

When the officers entered the store, the suspect, Kenneth R. Smith, 50, of Ironton, was leaving from behind the counter with a knife in his hand. The officers ordered him to drop the knife and placed him under arrest.

Capt. Chris Bowman, IPD detective, said Smith allegedly lured the store clerk from behind the counter under the guise that he wanted a carton of cigarettes. Smith then allegedly grabbed the clerk around the neck, ordering him to empty cash from the register. When Smith was apprehended, Bowman said, he had the money from the cash register on his person.

Bowman said Smith was charged with aggravated robbery and is lodged in the Lawrence County Jail. Jeremy Schneider/The Ironton Tribune