Three men broke into a Tyler Ridge Apartments unit before dawn Sunday, held a family at gunpoint and robbed them before fleeing, according to Mobile police — one of a string of armed robberies reported across the city over the weekend.
Mobile Police Department officers were called to the apartment complex in the 7700 block of Thomas Road around 2:58 a.m. Sunday. Investigators said three men first approached a man outside his apartment and physically assaulted him, then forced their way inside the residence.
Once inside, the suspects began stealing money and jewelry while holding the man’s family at gunpoint, according to police reports. The suspects fled the scene with the stolen items. Police have not said how many people were held hostage during the home invasion, and no suspects had been identified as of Monday morning.
Three more armed robberies in two days
The Tyler Ridge home invasion was the most serious of four robbery cases Mobile police reported from the weekend of July 17-20.
In the first, a man was robbed at gunpoint inside his home on Country Lane early Sunday morning. Officers arrived at the residence around 6:45 a.m. and discovered that a known man had entered the home and tried to rob the victim at gunpoint before fleeing on foot. No injuries were reported. The suspect has not been identified but faces first-degree robbery charges, police said, and the case remains active.
Saturday afternoon, a man threatened to shoot another man and stole his bicycle in the 1900 block of Willow Oak Drive. Officers responded around 2:45 p.m. and learned the suspect had approached the victim, threatened to shoot him and took his bike. The subject faces a first-degree robbery charge; police have not released his identity.
The weekend’s most dramatic arrest came Sunday night at the ALDI grocery store on Government Boulevard. Officers were called to 1550 Government Boulevard around 7 p.m. after a man tried to leave the store with unpaid items and became violent when an employee tried to stop him.
According to police, the man ran to a waiting getaway car — which drove off without him, causing him to drop the stolen goods before he tried to flee on foot. Officers caught him and identified him as Toney Worthy, 60. He was booked into Mobile County Metro Jail and charged with first-degree robbery. The store employee who intervened was assaulted during the encounter, police said.
What first-degree robbery means in Alabama
Every suspect in these cases faces Alabama’s most serious robbery charge. Under state law, robbery in the first degree is a Class A felony, punishable by 10 to 99 years or life in prison. A robbery rises to first degree when the thief is armed with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, or when the victim suffers serious physical injury.
Home invasions that involve a weapon and the threat of force against occupants are prosecuted under the same statute, and prosecutors weigh factors such as the number of victims, the use of firearms and the presence of children in deciding what sentence to seek. Judges can also enhance sentences for defendants with prior felony convictions under Alabama’s Habitual Offender Act.
Police ask for the public’s help
All four cases remained under active investigation as of Monday morning. In the Tyler Ridge home invasion, police have released no description of the three suspects, and it is not yet known whether the incidents are connected.
Detectives are asking anyone with information about any of the cases to call the Mobile Police Department at 251-208-7211. Anonymous tips can be submitted through CrimeStoppers, and information leading to an arrest may be eligible for a cash reward.