CENTRALIA — Centralia police have arrested a 23-year-old man in connection with the November armed robbery of the Fuel Vend Express gas station and convenience store on North Poplar Street.

Lamar Bennett, of Centralia, was arrested Tuesday on drug related charges, but information from an ongoing investigation into the November 19 armed robbery of Fuel Vend also has led to him being charged Wednesday morning in Marion County Court with Class X felony armed robbery with a firearm.

According to police reports, Officer Michael Peebles was responding Tuesday to a call about shots fired in an area behind the Family Dollar Store in Centralia, when he noticed a man behind a public housing unit on Maulding Drive with his pants down.

Peebles approached the man, now identified as Bennett, and noticed as the man pulled up his pants a plastic bag was sticking out of the pocket. He reportedly asked Bennett if the bag contained drugs, and Bennett said yes and gave the bag to the officer.

In addition to armed robbery, Bennett was also charged in court Wednesday morning with Class 1 felony manufacture with the intent to distribute between 1-15 grams of heroin for what was allegedly inside the bag he gave to Peebles. He was also charged with Class 4 felony possession of a controlled substance.

Judge Mark Stedelin set bail for Bennett at $250,000, appointed him a public defender and scheduled a preliminary hearing for January 5, 2016.

The call November 19 of the armed robbery came in when a panic alarm was pushed at the store. Employees reported a light-skinned black male entered the store, displayed a firearm and demanded money. Employees complied, giving the gunman an unspecified amount of money and the gunman fled on foot from the store, heading north in the alley behind the store.