Police have charged a Moravia teenager with threatening a convenience store clerk with a large knife during a robbery in Auburn.

Joel F. Ayers, 17, of 8 Liberty St., Moravia, was arrested Wednesday night and charged with felony first-degree robbery and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor.

Police believe Ayers is the person who entered the Kwik Fill store at State St., Auburn, at 11:30 p.m. Monday and demanded money while threatening the clerk with a knife.

The Auburn Police Department on Tuesday had sent video surveillance photos of the robbery suspect to local media, and although the face of the person in the photos appears to be completely obscured by a black cloth, a New York state trooper told police in Auburn that he thought he knew who the suspect might be, based on the photos and the description.

Auburn and state police investigators interviewed Ayers and then arrested him at about 8 p.m. Wednesday, police said.

Ayers was held overnight in the city police lockup and arraigned in Auburn City Court Thursday morning, when he was sent to the Cayuga County Jail on $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond.

The Auburn Police Department is continuing to investigate the case and requests that anyone with information contact the department at 253-3235 or investigator Bryant Bergenstock at 258-9880.