Posted on 09/20/2002 7:36:37 AM PDT by 07055
Two men and a woman who specialized in robbing Hispanic residents face a growing stack of criminal charges, Memphis police said Thursday.
A fourth member of the ring was fatally shot during an attempted robbery on Sept. 13 in Hickory Hill, said Robbery Bureau Maj. Randall O'Byrnes.
It was the death of Robert Lee Brooks Jr., 25, that led police to suspect the group is responsible for a lengthy list of robberies, O'Byrnes said.
He said the three people now facing charges are Deljuan E. Williams, 32; James E. Ingram, 23, and Sirita I. Tolbert, 19.
Tolbert confessed to police that she drove the getaway car while Brooks, Ingram and Williams robbed "Mexicans," according to a police affidavit charging Tolbert with facilitation of aggravated robbery.
Police so far have charged Williams and Ingram with two counts of aggravated robbery each for the Sept. 6 holdup of Moses Jimecez and Francisco Figueroa.
As Jimecez and Figueroa got out of a vehicle about 4:40 p.m. at 5925 Birdie Cove in the Gleneagles Apartments in Hickory Hill, two men robbed them of $100. Ingram hit Jimecez in the head with a pistol, according to a police affidavit.
O'Byrnes said the trio may be responsible for about 20 robberies. They face additional charges as police continue their investigation, he said.
On Sept. 13 at about 6 p.m., Brooks was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery of Jesus Morales and Roberto Moreno as they worked on a vehicle parked at the 6111 at Ridgeway Crossing apartments.
Tolbert told police she drove Brooks, who was her boyfriend, to Saint Francis Hospital after he was shot during the attempted robbery. Police recovered two pistols in the suspects' car.
Morales and Moreno told police they ran behind the vehicle and were armed only with a screwdriver. They said the two robbers fired shots and ran off.
Investigators have not determined who shot Brooks, police said.
- Kevin McKenzie: 529-2348
I love stories with happy endings.
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