WINTERPORT – An Orrington man was charged with robbery on Monday, minutes after he allegedly walked into the Country Bargains Store on Route 1A and demanded the clerk’s wallet.

The clerk refused and the man left empty-handed.

Officers said Joshua Roberts, 21, was masked and carrying a 9 mm handgun when he entered the store about noon.

Roberts did not brandish the weapon, but it was found in a nearby snowbank after police took Roberts into custody along Old County Road 13 minutes after the incident.

Waldo County Chief Deputy Bob Keating credited the quick response of Hampden Public Safety Director Joe Rogers, patrol Officer Joel Small and Hampden Rescue with aiding the arrest.

Country Bargains is less than a mile from the Hampden line.

Keating said the store clerk reported that a masked man walked up to him and passed him a note reading, “Give me your wallet and no one will get hurt.” The clerk said that the man turned and left when the clerk refused to give him money or his wallet.

Keating said a store patron saw the man walk into the store wearing a ski mask and assumed he was cold. When the man walked toward a drink cooler and kept the mask on, the patron decided something was wrong. He saw the man approach the clerk, then hurry from the store.

Immediately, Waldo County dispatchers advised area law enforcement agencies that the man was seen heading on foot north on Route 1A toward Hampden. As sheriff’s deputies rushed to the scene, a Hampden Ambulance driver noticed a person fitting the description and notified Chief Rogers and Officer Small. They were joined by Waldo County Deputy Ben Seekins, and Roberts was taken into custody.

Keating said that when Seekins approached Roberts the deputy saw him toss an object into bushes on the side of Old County Road.

“After placing Mr. Roberts in the cruiser, Deputy Seekins went back to the bushes and found a Smith & Wesson 9 mm in the snow,” Keating said. “It was unloaded.”

Keating said Roberts later told Seekins that his car had broken down a short distance from the store and that when he walked by he decided to go inside and rob it.

Roberts was taken to the Waldo County Jail in Belfast.