Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008 | 6:45 p.m.
Metro Police are searching for three or four men who, while on a crime spree Tuesday morning that spanned the northwest and southwest areas of the valley, were foiled when they tried to steal a car and got it stuck in the garage where it was parked.
Metro spokesman Bill Cassell said the suspects have been described as black males between the ages of 17 and 22. At least one of them men was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and they were all wearing dark clothing. One of them is believed to still be in possession of a handgun, police said.
Cassell said the string of crimes began at about 9:15 a.m. Tuesday in the northwest part of the valley when the suspects robbed a woman of her purse and her lunch.
The men were in a gray Nissan that Cassell said was believed to have been recently stolen.
The group then attempted to take a young woman's purse at about 9:50 a.m. in the southwest area of town, but were unsuccessful when they dropped it. They ended up with only her keys and her cell phone, Cassell said.
A little more than an hour later, in the same area of town, Cassell said the men robbed at gunpoint two employees of a landscape company and made off with their wallets. They later surfaced at a residence in the 1900 block of Golden Trumpet Avenue, where they attempted a car jacking, he said.
Cassell said a resident was in his garage removing items from his open trunk when one of the suspects went up to him, brandished a weapon and demanded the car keys.
"The second suspect then attempts to back the car out of the garage and because the trunk is up, gets it stuck in the garage," Cassell said. "The suspect with the gun becomes distracted ... and the victim sees an opportunity and gets into a struggle with the suspect."
During the struggle, Cassell said, the gun went off, but didn't hit anyone. The suspect then dropped the gun.
Meanwhile, he said, the suspect in the victim's vehicle stomped on the accelerator in an attempt to free the vehicle from the garage. He made it out of the garage only to ram into another vehicle parked in the street, Cassell said.
Cassell said all of the men then left the scene in both the victim's stolen car and the Nissan they were originally driving.
The victim then used the dropped gun to fire shots at the suspects as they fled. Authorities said no injuries were reported.
Police officers later found the victim's vehicle wrecked about a mile away, Cassell said. The Nissan was later found by police abandoned at a nearby apartment complex.
Metro Police is asking for anyone who might have seen any of these crimes in progress or who may have any additional information to call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.
Ashley Livingston can be reached at 990-8925 or [email protected].
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