MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Two suspects facing five felony charges each after police said they robbed an Okemos jewelry store threatened employees with what looked like a real handgun and tied them up before fleeing with the stolen jewelry on a stolen moped, according to court records.

The suspects, Nicholas Beauman, 22, of Haslett and Cosette Shreve, 20, of Wixom, were each charged with one count of armed robbery, two counts of unlawful imprisonment, one count of receiving and concealing a stolen vehicle and one felony firearm charge for using a pneumatic gun.

Meridian Township Police Detective Judy Hood testified that police were dispatched to Medawar Jewelers on West Grand River near Okemos Road shortly after 10 a.m. Monday on an armed robbery call. Police found two victims who told them they’d been restrained with zip ties by two people who entered the store wearing white motorcycle helmets brandishing what looked like a real handgun.

In fact, Hood told Magistrate Mark Blumer the weapon used in the robbery was a pneumatic gun. Pneumatic guns fire projectiles using air pressure as opposed to gun powder. Examples include airsoft, paintball and nail guns.

After securing the clerks’ hands together, Shreve loaded a bag with two cases of jewelry before the pair fled on the back of a black moped stolen out of East Lansing, Hood said. Police located the moped abandoned a short distance away, along with the helmets.

Amid the search for the suspects, Meridian Township Police Captain Greg Frenger saw the pair emerge from a wooded area near the intersection of Okemos and Gaylord C. Smith. Beauman and Shreve fled back into the woods after seeing a patrol car but were apprehended a short time later.

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Police: Suspects used moped asgetaway car in armed robbery at jewelry store

Beauman confessed to planning the robbery during questioning at the Meridian Township Police Department and told officers where the pneumatic gun was, according to court records. He also admitted to stealing the moped and Hood testified that the suspects had passports and bags ready to flee law enforcement following the robbery.

The store employees were not injured during the robbery. None of the jewelry taken belonged to customers, Jon-Pierre Medawar, a co-owner of the business, confirmed Monday.

Both suspects are being held without bond at the Ingham County Jail.

Contact RJ Wolcott at (517) 377-1026 or rwolcott@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @wolcottr.