LEWISTON — A judge on Monday raised the cash bail of an Auburn man to $50,000 during his first appearance in court on charges of robbery and attempted robbery at a local store and credit union.
Andrew Franco, 37, was arrested on Friday and appeared in 8th District Court on Monday afternoon. A judge increased his bail by $35,000.
He is being held at Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn in lieu of bail. Bail conditions include staying away from Gowell’s Variety store.
Police said Franco attempted to rob the Rainbow Federal Credit Union on Washington Street on Thursday by accosting an employee in the parking lot at 6:30 a.m. Police said Franco, who was wearing a mask, threatened the worker with a knife, demanding the employee open the front door. He was let into the credit union, police said, but before he could get access to the vault, the employee fled from the building and flagged down help outside. Franco fled.
The robbery charge stems from the hold-up of Gowell’s Variety store in Auburn on Jan. 11, where a man entered the store, threatened a clerk with a knife and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said. Franco was charged with robbery in that incident.
Additional charges are likely, police said.
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