AUBURN — A local man was indicted Wednesday on two charges of robbery stemming from an attempted holdup at Rainbow Federal Credit Union and an armed robbery of Gowell’s Variety in January.

Andrew Franco, 37, of 256 Main St., robbed the variety store on Jan. 11 shortly after 8:30 p.m. He showed a knife to the clerk, threatening to cut her, then fled with more than $250 in cash, a police detective wrote in an affidavit. He had also demanded a carton of cigarettes.

A witness told police that Franco was trying to sell packages of cigarettes of the same variety as those in the carton taken from the store, Detective Chad Syphers wrote in his affidavit. Franco was wearing a sweatshirt that matched the description of the one worn during the robbery, Syphers wrote. Franco was picked by the clerk out of a photo lineup.

Police said Franco brandished a knife, approached a credit union employee in the parking lot on Washington Street at about 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 22 and demanded that the employee unlock the front door. He was let into the credit union, police said, but before he could get access to the vault, the employee fled the building and flagged down help outside.

Franco was indicted Wednesday by an Androscoggin County grand jury on two counts of Class A robbery, each punishable by up to 30 years in prison. He also was charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, a Class C crime, punishable by up to five years in prison.

He was held at the Androscoggin County Jail in lieu of $50,000 cash.

cwilliams@sunjournal.com

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