(SALEM, IL) — A 24-year-old Centralia man has pleaded guilty in Marion County Court to a felony charge of possessing narcotics, in exchange for a charge stemming from the alleged armed robbery of a Centralia gas station and convenience store being dismissed. Lamar Bennett was initially arrested on drug related charges, but information from an ongoing investigation into the November 19 armed robbery of Fuel Vend Express on North Poplar Street also led to him being charged in Count 1 with Class X felony armed robbery with a firearm. In addition to armed robbery, Bennett was also charged in Count 2 with Class 1 felony manufacture with the intent to distribute between 1-15 grams of heroin for what was allegedly inside a baggie he gave a Centralia police officer. He was charged in Count 3 with Class 4 felony possession of a controlled substance, in Count 3 with Class 2 felony possession of narcotics, and in Count 4 Class 1 felony aggravated armed robbery indicating a firearm. In exchange for his guilty plea to Count 4, Counts 1 and 3 for armed robbery and possession were dismissed. He is now scheduled for an April 27 bench trial on the remaining charges in Counts 2 and 5, felony manufacture with the intent to distribute heroin and aggravated armed robbery.