Police will allege Jade Duncan, 32, was known to staff at Faulkner’s Newsagency when he asked to buy cigarettes before allegedly pulling a knife on them on Sunday morning.

Shop owner John Faulkner arrived about 5.20am to open his Gosport St store on what was meant to be just another regular Sunday morning when he noticed the regular customer hanging around the front.

“I did the normal thing and opened the store at about 5.25am and he asked me if he could come in and buy some smokes. Because I knew him I said yes and we went into the shop,” Mr Faulkner told The Moree Champion.

But Duncan allegedly had an ulterior motive when he got inside.

It was at this moment, police will allege, Duncan pulled a knife and demanded money from the till before fleeing the scene.

Mr Faulkner raised the alarm with police, who arrived soon after.

He detailed Duncan’s identity, whom he said he had “known for most of his life and lives just around the corner”.

Following an investigation, officers tracked Duncan to a Warialda St home where he was arrested and taken to Moree Police Station and charged with armed robbery.

He spent two nights in custody before fronting Moree Local Court yesterday, where he was formally refused bail by Magistrate Michael O’Brien.

A brief of evidence has been ordered, with the matter to be referred to the DPP, which could lead to the case being heard in the district court, which carries tougher penalties.

Duncan will return to court in March.

Mr Faulkner believes the incident was fuelled by drugs.

“I said to the police as soon as they arrived that the problem was drugs. The town needs to be cleaned of drugs, because it’s getting worse and worse,” he said.

It’s not the first time the Faulkner family business has been hit, with the store targeted in a hold-up in 2013.

Isobel Faulkner noticed the ute of a regular customer – who had already popped in that morning – was parked at the front of the store in August.

Within a minute, the car, which was stolen, was carrying three men, who stormed the store with their faces covered before one allegedly produced a knife at Ms Faulkner and demanded cash.