DOTHAN, Ala. (WDHN) — A Saturday night outing to a Dothan gas station on Ross Clark Circle took an unexpected turn.

“He said that a group of individuals came into the store one of which had on a ski mask,” Dothan Police Lieutenant Scott Owens said. “Walked up to him armed with a knife and asked for all of the money in the drawer.”

The attempt to rob the Circle K failed, but the four individuals involved fled with an alcoholic beverage, however, when they thought they had escaped, they were caught by Dothan police officers at Cordova Park.

“We have charged four individuals with robbery in the first degree,” Lt. Owens said. “One of those is an adult and that would be Zykeriah McCray.”

Zykeriah McCray, along with three teenagers were arrested and charged with first-degree robbery.

McCray’s bond is set at $60,000.

Through interviews with the suspects, it was discovered that this was supposed to be a joke, but the police department and the clerk of the gas station believe otherwise.

“The clerk didn’t see it as a joke, neither does the Dothan department. This is not an appropriate joke if that’s what it was.”

Lt. Owens also says that there have been clerks who have been assaulted and even killed by knives, and that is not something to joke around about.

“When you attempt a theft or you complete the theft it really doesn’t matter once you use the force which would be the knife, in this case, to try to acquiesce the theft. Its robbery,” Lt. Owens said.

No one was harmed in the attempted robbery or harmed in the arrests that were made.