Two Union County men who were arrested early this (Friday) morning on drug charges, were arrested again after they allegedly robbed a convenience store. Creston Police say 21-year old Fransisco Martinez and 18-year old Dyrrel Malik Thornton Culbertson, both of Creston, face 1st Degree Robbery charges associated with the armed robbery at around 6-a.m., of the Casey’s General Store at 301 W. Taylor Street, in Creston. Both men were being held in the Union County Jail on $25,000 bond, each. Additional charges are pending.

Thornton-Culbertson

Inmate Martinez (Photo’s courtesy Mark Williams, Dispatch Supervisor – Union County Communications Center)

Authorities say they received a 911 call from store employees, who said they had been robbed at gun point by a man wearing a white mask, who left in a vehicle.  At 7:15-a.m., a citizen reported that a vehicle matching the description was in the ditch at 300^th St and Henry A. Wallace Road in Adair County, north of Creston. The driver of the vehicle was attempting to get it out of the ditch.

Officers from the Creston Police Department, Creston Police Department K9 “Minko,” Union County Sheriff’s Office, Adair County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa State Patrol responded to the area and detained two male subjects related to the investigation.

A search warrant related to the investigation was then executed at 316 Livingston Avenue in Creston. Martinez and Culbertson had previously been arrested at around 3-a.m. today (Friday), on Possession of Marijuana charges. They had been released from the Union County Jail on $1,000 bond each, prior to their alleged involvedment in the robbery.

(Noon News)