NC holdup suspects call cops for help with tire

HICKORY, N.C. — Two North Carolina men suspected of holding up a convenience store were caught after police called to help change a flat tire recognized the men from surveillance videos.

Multiple media organizations reported Wednesday that 31-year-old James Jennings of Claremont and 46-year-old Mark Franklin of Conover were each charged by Hickory police with one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon.

They were scheduled for an initial court hearing Wednesday. A jail official did not know if the men had hired lawyers.

Hickory Police spokeswoman Libby Grigg says the men called officers because they knew patrol cars carried lug wrenches that could remove the flat tire on their car.

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