One of four men charged with robbing Piggly Wiggly in Natchez this month will be serving at least the next four years in jail on a earlier charge.

Carlos D. Thomas, 24, 817 North Rankin St., who was convicted of aggravated assault in 1998, was out on probation at the time of the armed robbery, in which an assistant manager of the store was shot in the legs.

Circuit Court Judge Forrest &uot;Al&uot; Johnson decided to revoke Thomas’s probation Wednesday after a hearing on the matter. &uot;You are on probation,&uot; Johnson told Thomas. &uot;This is just simply a hearing to see if you violated your probation.&uot;

Thomas declined to give testimony during the hearing but Ronnie Brown, area supervisor with the Mississippi Department of Corrections and Otis Mazique, a investigator with the Natchez Police Department both testified that Thomas had confessed to the armed robbery.

Mazique read portions of Thomas’s confession, which states: &uot;I ran in Piggly Wiggly – on accident I shot a guy in the manager’s box.&uot; Thomas also wrote that he jumped over the wall of the manager’s box to take the money.

His brother, Kareem L. Baldwin, 20, also of 817 North Rankin St., went into the store with him but did not have a gun or touch the money, Thomas also wrote in his confession. Thomas and his brother were both charged with aggravated assault and armed robbery.

A third suspect, Corey Robinson, 21, 12 Roundale St., who is believed to have driven the get-away car, was also charged with aggravated assault and armed robbery.

Terrance M Broadus, 24, 104 South Hickory St. Vidalia, La, was charged with accessory after the fact. All four suspects will have a preliminary hearing Feb. 1.