Authorities have arrested an 18-year-old sandwich shop employee and her boyfriend for masterminding the armed robbery of the Jackson business at which she worked.

The arrests were made Friday morning in Volcano, where the Amador County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team apprehended Caitlin McElwee and Nicholas Thomas, 19, near their shared residence in the 21000 block of National Street.

McElwee allegedly conspired with her boyfriend in the Dec. 2 robbery of the Quiznos Subs in the 11000 block of Old Mill Lane in Jackson. McElwee is an employee at the Martell Quiznos and was working at the Jackson store the foggy evening of the robbery.

That's when a black-clad suspect with a shrouded face and silver-plated handgun strode into the store, struck an 18-year-old female trainee in the head with his pistol and demanded employees empty the register. During the crime, a male dishwasher, unseen in the back of the store, was able to slip out a rear door and call for help from a nearby hotel. By the time Jackson police and county sheriff's units arrived, the suspect, now believed to be Thomas, had disappeared with the contents of the register and the employees' tip jar.

It was a combined investigation by Jackson police and sheriff's detectives that resulted in the breaks in the case.

Most helpful was the actual surveillance video from the night of the incident.

"There just wasn't something right when we viewed the video," explained Jackson Police Capt. Christy Stidger.

That was how Quiznos owner Don Bernasconi put it as well.

Video from the previous day was also reviewed, which Stidger and Bernasconi said showed McElwee failing to follow the proper protocol for closing the business. "I preach that daily," Bernasconi said. Police interviewed McElwee the night of the robbery along with the other employees, then brought her in for an additional interview days later.

While there are still some aspects of the case that remain under investigation, Stidger said authorities had enough to obtain the search warrant that was executed around 8 a.m. Friday.

Because police were investigating an armed robbery, the county's SWAT team was brought in to watch the suspects' residence in Volcano. When McElwee left that morning, SWAT team members conducted what Undersheriff Jim Wegner described as a "high-risk stop" of her vehicle. She was taken into custody without incident, after which the SWAT team set up a perimeter around the residence and did what's called a "surrounding call-out," in which Thomas was ordered to exit the building. He also surrendered without incident and Jackson investigators began their search.

Police recovered electronics believed to have been stolen during a burglary in the Volcano area, Wegner said, linking the couple to at least one separate crime. A release from the Jackson Police Department referred to "several burglaries in the county area."

Bernasconi expressed mixed emotions about the arrests.

"How do you get over something like this?" he said. "I feel sorry for my employees going through something they didn't have to go through. I feel sorry for Caitlin's parents. And I feel sorry for Caitlin. She's a sweet girl, but I guess she got caught up with the wrong individuals."

Thomas was charged with armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of stolen property. McElwee was charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of stolen property. Both were in custody at the Amador County Jail as of Friday afternoon. The sheriff's office is forwarding a separate report to the district attorney's office on the Volcano burglary.

Bernasconi said the two employees who were most affected by the robbery are doing better. He's been calling them every week and letting them know their jobs will be waiting when they're ready to come back. "It's important to have your priorities straight," he said.