FERRIDAY — When a man dressed in camouflage, a hat and glasses walked up to the counter at Vaughan’s City Drug Store Monday afternoon and showed owner Chris Vaughan a gun and asked for Xanax, Valium, Methadone and OxyContin, Vaughan didn’t know if he should take it seriously.

“I asked him if it was a joke, and when he told me it wasn’t, it was like, ‘OK, I’ll do it for you,’” Vaughan said.

The alleged robber, Robert C. Ballard, 26, of 307 Persimmon Drive, Tullos, La. then turned and told all of the employees to get back from the counter and not touch any of the phones.

“When he told us to back away from the counter, one of the associates had a cell phone in her pocket and when someone motioned to her to do it she called 911,” pharmacist Anglie Parish said. “My heart dropped when I realized it was real.”

Vaughan gave Ballard Xanax, Valium and OxyContin, and after the alleged robber left the store, he called his father to come help with inventory.

“People just kept coming in because they didn’t know what had happened, so we just kept on,” Parish said.

An employee at the nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken location saw the car Ballard was allegedly in leave the scene, and Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office Deputy Stephen Karabelen and Louisiana State Trooper Wayne Taylor later stopped the car near Lakeside Ford on U.S. 84, CPSO Public Information Officer Kathleen Stevens said.

Reportedly driving the car was Ballard’s sister, Bridget Charlene Ballard, 25, of 234 Persimmon Road, Tullos.

When stopped, Robert Ballard allegedly tried to hide some of the evidence when exiting the vehicle.

The gun Ballard allegedly used was reportedly a BB gun designed to resemble a .45 pistol, Stevens said.

The quick law enforcement response and the public’s willingness to work with them are the reason the arrest happened so quickly, Concordia Parish Sheriff Randy Maxwell said.

“The public really made a difference here,” Maxwell said.

Robert Ballard was charged with armed robbery.

Bridget Ballard alleges she did not know of her brother’s intentions. She was charged with expired driver’s license and was placed on a probation hold, Stevens said.

No bond was set for either Robert or Bridget Ballard Tuesday.

Deputy Phillip Webber also assisted in the investigation, which is considered ongoing.