Charleston , Kanawha County , West Virginia

Parkersburg police said two people have been charged after a man allegedly conspired with an employee to rob a business.

Brian Bradley Wright, 22, of Washington, W.Va., was charged with felony grand larceny Tuesday in connection with a Feb. 1 robbery at Peoples News on Emerson Avenue, according to a news release from the Parkersburg Police Department.

Police said they expect an employee at the store, Benjamin Adam Stephan, to turn himself in soon on a charge of falsely reporting an emergency incident.

Detectives allege that Wright conspired with Stephan in staging the armed robbery. Wright is believed to have pointed a gun at Stephan, then left the business with about $22,000 in cash that the two later split, police said. Stephan eventually called 911 to report the robbery.

Wright was processed at police headquarters and taken to Wood County Magistrate Court. Magistrate Robin Waters issued him a $100,000 bond, which he could not post. Wright was placed in the Wood County Holding Center to await transport to the North Central Regional Jail.

At the time of the original call, Stephan told police he was in the rear of the business smoking when an unknown male dressed in black and wearing a ski mask approached him, the release said. The suspect produced a weapon, shoving him back into the building and onto the floor. Stephan also said that after collecting money from inside the business, the suspect struck him in the face and fled on foot.

* Photo is of robbery suspect Brian Bradley Wright.

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