A Selma man will spend the next 10 years behind bars after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery first degree in connection with an incident that occurred last October.

Circuit Court Judge Jack Meigs sentenced Melvin Jerome Marshall to 10 years in prison Friday for his role in an attempted robbery that occurred at the Check-N-Go loan store on Kimball Road on Oct. 11.

According to official reports, Marshall was one of two men who entered the Check-N-Go location last October with the intent of robbing the store before a store employee alerted police to the incident.

A woman working at the store had been on the phone with her boyfriend when Marshall, and his accomplice Courtney Smith, approached the front door.

The woman told her boyfriend the men appeared to be suspicious and she was afraid she was about to be robbed, so she hit a silent alarm.

After asking for paperwork to apply for a loan, the two sat at a table in the front of the store while the female employee stepped into a back room to press a second panic button and call police to report her growing suspicions.

District Attorney Michael Jackson said that by calling the authorities and reporting the men’s suspicious behavior, the woman was likely able to prevent a robbery and loss of life.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Jackson said. “It could have been a very tragic situation if she didn’t call the police.”

Jackson said many times, a quick call to police could help prevent such a crime.

“A lot of crimes like this are either solved or prevented because of citizens noticing something is wrong and calling 911,” Jackson said.

Jackson said Marshall would be held at the Dallas County Jail until he is moved to another location within the Alabama Department of Corrections to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Jackson said Smith is facing a charge of attempted robbery for his role in the incident.