Three men are behind bars today, charged in connection with the theft of an undetermined amount of money from the Hughes Carryout on State Route 650. They were apprehended after local citizens tipped police as to their whereabouts.

Toby L. Nelson, 27, of Franklin Furnace is charged with theft and breaking and entering. Todd Lawhorn, 23, of Ashland, Ky.. and Kris L. Winters, 23, of 1412 South Second Street, Ironton, are each charged with complicity to theft. They remain in jail and will appear in Ironton Municipal Court Thursday for arraignment.

Lawrence County Sheriff Tim Sexton said his deputies received a call from a clerk at the store, advising that a man had come into his establishment and had purchased a soft drink. As the cash register was opened to make change, the suspect grabbed money from the register and fled in a waiting car with two other subjects inside.

Sexton said the men were apprehended in a field off Kelly's Mill Road after their car broke down on a dirt road between two fields and they were forced to flee on foot.

"We got wonderful assistance from area citizens who saw the men and thought it was strange that there were three men running through a field and called police. They called the sheriff's office and asked us if we were looking for anybody and we advised that we were looking for three men in a theft case," Sexton said. "I can't thank them enough for their assistance."

The Lawrence County Sheriff's Office received assistance from the Coal Grove Police Department, Scioto County Sheriff's Office and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.