Mobile police were searching for an armed suspect after a driver was robbed of his keys at gunpoint on a residential street in the northwestern part of the city. The robbery unfolded late on a Thursday night on St. Charles Court, near Moffett Road, and left the victim shaken but unharmed.
Officers responded to the reported holdup at around 10:45 p.m., according to Mobile Police Department spokesman Officer Terence Perkins. The driver told investigators he had been near the intersection of St. Charles Court and Forest Cove Drive when a stranger flagged him down, as if seeking help or a moment of the driver’s time.
A quick, brazen theft
When the motorist stopped, the man walked up to the vehicle and drew a handgun, Perkins said. Rather than demand the car itself, the robber reached in, grabbed the keys from the ignition and fled the area on foot. The victim was not injured, and his vehicle was left behind.
The relatively unusual target, a set of keys rather than a wallet or the car itself, gave the case an odd wrinkle, but the use of a firearm made it a serious felony. Police said the suspect was wanted on a single count of first-degree robbery, one of the most severe robbery charges under Alabama law because it involves the use or threat of a deadly weapon.
A description for the public
Investigators released a description of the man they were seeking. He was described as a Black man of about 5 feet 9 inches tall and roughly 220 pounds, with a dark complexion and short hair. Police estimated he appeared to be in his late 30s. At the time of the robbery, according to the account provided to officers, he was wearing a white tank-top and black shorts.
The incident took place in a quiet stretch of the city, the kind of residential pocket where late-night traffic is light and a stranger waving down a passing car might not immediately raise alarm. Police did not indicate whether the victim and suspect had any prior connection, and no arrests had been announced.
How to help
The Mobile Police Department asked anyone with information about the robbery to come forward. Residents who may have seen the man in the area, or who could help identify him, were urged to contact the department at 251-208-7211.
Armed robberies of motorists, while not common in the neighborhood, tend to draw close attention from investigators because of the danger they pose to victims and to the public. In this case, authorities emphasized that the driver had cooperated and escaped without injury, and that the priority now was identifying and locating the man who had confronted him.
As the search continued, police reminded residents to be cautious about stopping for strangers on darkened streets, particularly late at night, and to report suspicious activity promptly. The department said it would provide additional information as the investigation progressed.