FRANKLIN—A Como, N.C., man has been charged with stealing money from one of two 18-year-olds he allegedly confronted inside Franklin’s Walmart and then asked them to drive him to North Carolina, Virginia State Police said.

Junior Williams apparently encountered the victims — one from Franklin and the other from Murfreesboro, N.C., — at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Armory Drive store, said Sgt. Allen Williams with state police in Courtland.

After allegedly asking the victims for money, the suspect left the store and the victims encountered him while they were leaving in their truck, Williams said.

“When they went to leave, this same guy was standing on the curb where you leave the Walmart parking lot and somehow he made his way into the truck with them,” Williams said. “He told them to drive to Southampton Meadows (Mobile Home Park) and they did. They were kind of scared.”

Junior Williams then allegedly told the driver to continue to Como and onto Murfreesboro.

All the while, one of the victims was sending text messages to his mother and police were alerted, Sgt. Allen Williams said.

“When they arrived in Murfreesboro, the suspect got out and left the area and (the victim) drove to a food store, Lowe’s, in Murfreesboro,” he said. “Police also found and arrested the suspect. The two victims identified the suspect.”

The suspect never showed a weapon and no one was hurt, Williams said.