MARION COUNTY — A 28-year-old Centralia man was sentenced Tuesday in Marion County Court to problem solving/drug court after he earlier pleaded guilty to robbing the Family Dollar Store on North Elm Street.

Dierre Hill was arrested in March for the armed robbery of the Family Dollar Store in Centralia. Hill was ultimately charged in court with Class X felony armed robbery and Class 2 felony robbery.

Hill pleaded guilty last month to the Class 2 felony charge in exchange for the Class X felony charge being dismissed. Judge Mark Stedelin accepted the plea and ordered a pre-sentencing investigation to be conducted.

According to Centralia police, they responded around 8:50 p.m. March 31, to calls from the Family Dollar Store saying they had just been robbed at gunpoint and the suspect fled south on a bicycle.

Within minutes officers had Hill in custody and they had reportedly located a firearm.

Police say Hill was riding a bicycle and wearing clothes that matched that given of the robbery suspect.

Officers also located a bag of money on Hill that was described as that taken during the robbery and the Centralia Police K-9 located a pellet gun nearby that is believed to have been the weapon displayed during the robbery.