All charges against a Farrell man accused of robbing two women as they left work one morning in December were waived to Mercer County Common Pleas Court.

Arthur C. Pate III, 34, whose last known address was 505 Pennsylvania Ave., faces charges of robbery, theft and receiving stolen property. He appeared for a preliminary hearing Thursday before District Justice James E. McMahon, Sharon.

At 7:45 a.m. Dec. 17, Pate approached a woman in the 700 block of East State Street -- near the token parking lot of the hospital of Sharon Regional Health System, where the woman works -- told her he had a .22-caliber gun in his pocket and demanded money, police said. Police said they do not believe he had a gun at the time.

The woman told Pate she didn't have any money, and Pate ran away, police said.

A few minutes later, Pate approached another Sharon Regional employee on Ormond Avenue, grabbed her purse and ran away, police said. The purse, missing a small amount of cash, was recovered, police said.

Pate was arrested on a warrant Dec. 22 at the Shenango Valley Regional Lock-up in Farrell.

Pate was taken to Mercer County Jail after failing to post $10,000 bond.