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A Liberty man was arrested Friday in connection with the robbery of a Waterville store, police said.

Kirby Bradford, 58, was charged with one Class B count of robbery and one Class E count of violating conditions of release, Maj. Jason Longley of the Waterville Police Department said in a statement issued Tuesday.

Bradford was being held without bail at the Kennebec County jail, Longley said. He is due back in court Oct. 27 in Augusta.

Police received a report of the robbery of Shoe Dept. Encore store at 40 JFK Plaza, off Kennedy Memorial Drive, just before 7 p.m. Friday. Police declined to say how much money is believed to have been taken.

Store employees provided a description of a man and his vehicle, police said. About 10 minutes later, officers located the vehicle and stopped it on Carter Memorial Drive. Bradford was detained.

Meanwhile, detectives obtained a search warrant for Bradford’s vehicle and executed it, obtaining evidence, police said.

Longley said in an email that police are unsure why Shoe Dept. Encore was targeted.

The store is in a shopping plaza alongside several other large retailers, a restaurant and a Hannaford grocery store. The alleged robbery took place during the store’s listed weekday opening hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Robberies in the city in recent years include one at the Shaw’s supermarket on Kennedy Memorial Drive in September 2024, one at the Big Apple store on Elm Street in January 2024, one at Bangor Savings Bank on upper Main Street in October 2023 and one at the GameStop store on Waterville Commons Drive in October 2021.

Jake covers public safety, courts and immigration in central Maine. He started reporting at the Morning Sentinel in November 2023 and previously covered all kinds of news in Skowhegan and across Somerset...