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Aurora man charged with attempted robbery of Terra Alta grocery store

KINGWOOD — An Aurora man is charged with the April 14 attempted robbery of the Terra Alta Shop ‘n Save.

Seth Edwin Feather, 33, is accused of attempting to rob the store with a cane. He was in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail Tuesday in lieu of $5,000 bond.

According to the criminal complaint by Preston Sheriff’s Sgt. J.B. Childers, he watched security footage which showed a middle aged man wearing dark glasses, a bandana covering his lower face and using a cane approach a cashier. The bandanna was not unusual because of COVID-19, he said.

The man waited for another customer to check out, then approached the cashier and told him to “give me all your money and cigarettes.” The man “raised the came and placed it on his left shoulder as if he was holding it like a baseball bat ready to swing.”

The cashier, surprised, asked the man to repeat himself. The man then said he was joking and ran outside, where he got into a white, four-door car.

The cashier told the manager what had happened. She looked at the car and went to get her gun and watch the security footage. Then the manager saw Preston Litter Control Officer Jay Sowers enter the store.

The manager told Sowers what had happened and he called Deputy Childers.

Meanwhile, an older woman checked out of the store and got into the car. The man with the cane was seen helping her by returning the shopping cart.

During his investigation, Deputy Childers contacted the car’s owner, a woman. She told the officer Feather had told her what he did and it upset her. The officer did not believe she was involved in the incident.

TWEET@DominionPostWV