Two arrested in armed robbery of clothing store BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer LONG BRANCH - Two Florida men are facing charges for allegedly robbing a Long Branch clothing store at gunpoint last week. On Nov. 27, the owner of The Fashion Depot on Fourth Avenue and one of his staff were alone in the store when two men entered the building at 11:45 a.m., posing as customers, according to police reports. The owner told officers that one of the men held a black handgun to his head and then proceeded to put duct tape over his and his employee's mouths, according to reports. The two suspects then used clear plastic wrap to bind both men's hands behind their backs, lying them face down on the floor, according to police. Police said the suspects proceeded to load a large amount of clothing into a pick-up truck that they had driven to the scene. Approximately 40 minutes after the suspects fled the building, the owner of the store managed to free himself and call police. According to police, suspects Lee Dawn Troutwein-Thomas, 26, and Ricky Conaway Jr., 23, both of Florida, were arrested in Neptune City at approximately 12:30 p.m. the same day. After Troutwein-Thomas and Conaway allegedly robbed the warehouse, they were pulled over on Route 35 at approximately 12:30 p.m. in Neptune for a seat belt violation, according to reports. At the time of the motor vehicle stop, Neptune Sgt. Richard Oppegaard was unaware that the occupants of the vehicle had just committed an armed robbery with a handgun in Long Branch, according to police. Oppegaard observed the clothing in the bed of the pick-up truck and became suspicious, police said. The officer observed the business name on the boxes and phoned the Long Branch Police Department and learned about the robbery. Police then recovered the proceeds from the robbery and located a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun, according to police reports. Both men were charged with armed robbery, possession of a weapon, unlawful possession of a weapon, and criminal restraint, police said. The men were transported to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold Township and bail was set at $500,000 with no 10-percent option.