MORGANTOWN — A former store employee and two other men have been arrested in connection with the August armed robbery of the Morgantown Woodchuck IGA.

John A. Nocito, 45, Indianapolis, Randall S. Slaten, 32, Trafalgar, and Jaqueline B. Walters, 28, Trafalgar, are in custody.

Nocito has been charged with robbery, criminal confinement, kidnapping and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon.

Slaten and Walters face charges of aiding, inducing or causing armed robbery.

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The arrests are a result of a collaborative effort with the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office and the Morgantown Police Department, a press release from the sheriff’s office states.

Police believe Nocito planned robbing the grocery store with Walters and Slaten days before it happened, the press release states.

Walters was an employee of the IGA at the time. She and her boyfriend, Slaten, allegedly helped organize and aid in the crime, according to the release.

At approximately 6:14 a.m. Aug. 30, officers received a report of an armed robbery at the Morgantown Woodchuck IGA. Officers learned that Nocito followed Walters into the store as she came to work.

Armed with a shotgun, Nocito forced female employees through the store and demanded cash or he said he would shoot them.

After the robbery, Nocito was picked up in a get-away car.

All preliminary charges are Level 3 felonies. A Level 3 felony carries a penalty upon conviction of between three and 16 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.