It may be unclear how the suspect tied his own knots, but it did not take the Ironton Police Department long to unravel the case.

At 4:26 a.m. Friday, the IPD responded to an alarm at the Speedway gas station on Liberty Avenue. Store clerk Justin Thomas, 18, of Ironton reported that two gun-wielding men tied him up, took an undetermined sum of money out the safe and sped off, said IPD Det. Jim Akers.

But things were not quite as they seemed.

Thomas, who had worked at the store only a month, was tied up until a customer came into the store, but some of the details didn't add up for the detectives and responding officers Pam Wagner and Mitch Crum.

"Too many things just didn't match," Akers said. "When the officers found the money behind the building, that pretty much solved it."

Figuring that the suspect was hiding right under their noses, the officers began to question Thomas who confessed to the crime and admitted that he had tied himself up, Akers said. He was charged with felony theft and making a false alarm.

Thomas was taken to the Lawrence County Jail and will appear in Ironton Municipal Court at 1:30 p.m. Monday.

Akers said they were fortunate that all the pieces fell into place so easily.

"We all worked on this together," he said. "Everyone involved deserves credit for solving this."