ERIE, Pa. -- Erie police say a man charged with robbing a convenience store last month really did have an ironclad alibi: the bars surrounding him at a state prison near Wilkes-Barre.

Twenty-four-year-old Jason Rio Woodard was charged with robbing a Country Fair convenience store Dec. 14 after a clerk picked him out of a photo lineup.

But police have dropped the charges because they now know Mr. Woodard is serving a six-year sentence for theft and drug offenses at the State Correctional Institution at Dallas.

Mr. Woodard's mother, Dolores Payne, says police called to apologize but she plans to sue.

Police say it was an honest mistake based on the clerk's identification.

First Published: January 10, 2008, 3:15 p.m.