Two men with prior felony convictions, one of them still on probation, have been arrested and charged by Lincoln County authorities in connection with a robbery attempt foiled last week by a local business owner.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department believes David E. Coleman and Dontrail Smith, both 36, attempted to rob Zetus Automotive Thursday afternoon but met their match in the person of shop owner Phillip “Duke” Montgomery and his 12-gauge shotgun.

Coleman was arrested Friday morning about 7:30 a.m. after he apparently spent a chilly night in the woods and allegedly broke into a home on Jackson Liberty Drive and stole warmer clothes and jewelry, said Sheriff Steve Rushing.

Last seen Thursday wearing a T-shirt, he was arrested Friday morning with a sweater and a jacket on, Rushing reported.

“It got cold that night,” said the sheriff.

Authorities took Smith into custody early Friday afternoon at a residence in Hazlehurst.

Coleman, of 212 Fair St., Hazlehurst, is charged with armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, burglary of a residence and burglary of a vehicle.

Smith, of 3121 Bailey Road, Georgetown, is charged with attempted armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and burglary of a vehicle.

Bond for Coleman has been set at $100,000 and for Smith at $50,000, though there’s a hold on Coleman for the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Both have prior felony convictions – Coleman for a Copiah County armed robbery and Smith on drug charges, said Rushing.

Coleman was on probation, hence the MDOC hold.

The vehicle burglary charge both men face stems from their alleged theft of some property from a truck belonging to Zetus Automotive employee Blake Bourn.

The vehicle burglary apparently occurred while Bourn and Montgomery were away for lunch.

The stolen property included keys and a jump box. Law enforcement recovered the jump box from a green Ford Expedition discovered Thursday afternoon.

The vehicle belonged to a relative of Coleman, Rushing said.

Shortly after Bourn and Montgomery returned from lunch Thursday to the Zetus Road shop, they were confronted by a man wearing an improvised ski mask and wielding a pistol.

Bourn and Montgomery took cover. Montgomery proceeded to yell several times and push over a piece of equipment, prompting the masked man and a second subject to run.

Montgomery then retrieved a shotgun from his shop office and fired several times at the fleeing would-be robbers.

Despite the shots, neither of the men arrested were wounded or injured, Rushing said.

A 9 mm semi-automatic handgun was allegedly recovered from Coleman, according to Rushing.

The men’s getaway attempt met much the same fate as the aborted robbery. Law enforcement found the green Expedition stuck in a ditch on Jackson Liberty Drive.

Coleman allegedly hid out in the surrounding woods while Smith arranged for a ride to Hazlehurst, said Rushing.

Following a sighting of Coleman about 8 p.m. Thursday night, authorities searched for him in the Highway 550 area into the night.

Dogs and a Mississippi Highway Patrol tracking team were utilized during the late-night search.