Over semester break, the Subway on Lincoln Avenue was robbed at gunpoint, marking a rare occurrence of such a violent robbery in Charleston.

“Usually we have a few robberies but they’re not armed robberies,” Roger Cunningham, Charleston associate police chief, said.

At approximately 8:34 p.m. on Dec. 20, Subway was robbed while approximately three employees were in the store, Lt. Rick Fisher said. No customers were present during the robbery.

Dereco A. Harris, 24, of 1534 Third St., was arrested later that day as a suspect in the crime, police said.

“Basically, the employees were in the back room and they heard someone out front,” Fisher said.

The employees gave the money to the robber, and no one was hurt, Fisher said.

“(The suspect) fled into the apartment complex, 1534 Third St., and they sealed off the area,” Fisher said.

Police then blanketed the area until the suspect was located.

“Basically, the officers started doing a door-to-door canvas and they found a subject with that description,” Cunningham said. “He matched a description and was taken into custody. He and his area were searched.”

Subway employees were in the back doing preparations, when the suspect entered the store. The suspect was already over the counter when worker Dawn Price walked to the front to see who was there.

“He was saying he wanted all the money and had another worker come up and get the money,” Price, a senior family consumer science major, said.

The other employees were instructed to lay on the ground while the suspect retrieved the money, Price said.

“After he got the money, he put it in a sack and had us stay on the floor until he was gone,” she said.

“It kind of scared me, but I just listened to what he was saying,” Price said, who returned to work a week after the robbery. “I know that we have a pretty good security system. No, I’m not really scared because it hasn’t happened before.”

The alleged weapon, a .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol, and the stocking mask the suspect was wearing were recovered, Fisher said. The Charleston Police were aided in their investigation by the Illinois State Police Crime and Detention Center and the University Police Department.

Fisher said he could not disclose the amount of money that was stolen.

“The first responding officers did a real good job and as a result, later led to the arrest,” Fisher said.

Harris, whose bond is set at $35,000, will have a preliminary hearing Monday at 1 p.m.