BIDDEFORD — On Thursday, Biddeford police arrested a North Berwick man who allegedly robbed Shaw’s Supermarket earlier this month. He was traveling with a Biddeford man, who was arrested on unrelated charges.

Police say Eli Curley, 33, of North Berwick, walked into the Shaw’s Super-market at 510 Alfred St. at about 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 3 and handed a note to a clerk that said he had a gun and wanted all of the money in the cash register. The clerk obliged and Curley made off with an undisclosed sum of money.

“No weapon was brandished,” Deputy Police Chief JoAnne Fisk said Friday. “He just claimed he had one.”

An investigation conducted by the Biddeford Police Department’s Street Crime Units as well as a detective identified Curley as the suspect, according to a post on the police department’s Facebook page Friday.

On Thursday, Biddeford police located Curley while he was riding in a large bucket truck. After police made contact with the vehicle, the driver, Gene Dares, 36, of Biddeford, pulled into a residential parking lot on Pine Street and attempted to flee the area on foot, according to the post.

Biddeford police arrested both men.

Fisk said Dares is a habitual offender, meaning he’s been convicted of three or more driving-related crimes. According to the post, Dares was charged with operating after revocation as a habitual offender, violation of conditional release and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Curley was arrested on a warrant in relation to a previous aggravated assault charge; after he was taken into custody, he was also charged with robbery, according to the post. 

Both men were taken to the York County Jail in Alfred. They appeared in court Friday afternoon, where Curley’s bail was set at $17,500 and Dares’ was set at $250 cash, according to police.

— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].