Two Selma men were arrested on robbery charges after their attempt to rob a payday loan store was thwarted.

Melvin Marshall Jr., 21, 211 Longbrook Drive, Montgomery and Courtney Smith, 19, 330 Third Street, Montgomery were both booked into the Dallas County jail Friday afternoon on charges of first-degree armed robbery and unlawful breaking and entering of a vehicle after allegedly trying to rob a Check ‘n Go store on East Highland Avenue and stealing a license plate for their getaway car, according to police reports. Both men were being held on a $515,000 bond.

Lt. Curtis Muhannad said the pair allegedly stole a license plate off of a nearby car before entering Check ‘n Go, wearing wigs, glasses and bandannas.

Store manager Deshanda Hatcher said the pair looked suspicious, so she set off the silent alarm and gave them applications to buy some time.

“They were just scratching on the applications, waiting for the customers to leave I guess,” Hatcher said.

Police, who were already in the area, responded to the alarm and arrived at the store while Marshall and Smith were still in the building, according to reports.

Police recovered two semi-automatic pistols from the scene. Hatcher said no damage was done to the store.