A felony charge against a 20-year-old Foley man tied to a hotel robbery in Gulf Shores is set to be dismissed after he agreed to pay restitution as part of a deal with the Baldwin County District Attorney’s Office, according to court records.
Joshua Thomas had been charged with second-degree property theft in connection with a July 22 robbery at the Courtyard Marriott in Gulf Shores. He was also arrested on a separate robbery charge related to the same incident, but that charge was resolved through youthful offender status, a designation reserved for younger defendants that seals the case record and can result in a suspended sentence, probation of up to three years, or up to three years in jail rather than a standard felony conviction.
Court records show Thomas and another Foley man, 30-year-old Justin Miller, were accused of taking $556 from the hotel during the incident, according to affidavits filed in the case. Under the new arrangement, prosecutors agreed to drop the property theft charge against Thomas once he pays back the amount in restitution, though the exact figure had not yet been finalized as of this week.
Miller’s case has not been resolved in the same way. He continues to face both a first-degree robbery charge and a second-degree property theft charge stemming from the same July incident, and those charges remain pending in Baldwin County court.
The resolution of Thomas’ case reflects a common path for lower-level co-defendants in property crime cases, particularly younger offenders without extensive criminal histories, where restitution agreements can resolve charges more quickly than a full trial. For hotels and other businesses in the Gulf Shores tourist corridor, incidents like the Courtyard Marriott robbery underscore ongoing concerns about property crime tied to the area’s large seasonal visitor population.
Baldwin County prosecutors did not immediately detail additional conditions attached to the restitution agreement, such as a deadline for payment or consequences if Thomas fails to pay the amount owed. The case against Miller, meanwhile, remains active, with no trial date yet set as of this report.