Birmingham, AL 12/6/2016
Information developed and shared by the Metro Area Crime Center has resulted in two arrests for robbery this week.
In the first case, a Birmingham man has been arrested for the November 6, 2016, robbery of the Dollar General store located in the 1600 block of Center Point Road.
At about 10:00 am on Sunday, November 6, an adult male suspect entered the store and asked where the diapers were located. After retrieving a pack of diapers the suspect returned to the counter and produced a handgun. He demanded the cashier give him the money from the cash register. The cashier told him she could not open the register and called for the store manager. The suspect left the store empty handed.
Video surveillance inside the store captured images of the suspect and a Sheriff’s office mobile surveillance platform captured video of him leaving the store. Images of the suspect were distributed to detectives working in the Metro Area Crime Center at the Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives from Vestavia Police and Trussville Police were investigating other unrelated burglary cases from their jurisdictions. They showed a photo of the robbery suspect to a witness in their cases. They were given a name of a possible suspect.
Torsean Washington
Sheriff’s detectives were able to positively identify the robbery suspect as 20-year-old Torsean Darnell Washington of Birmingham. On November 14, Sheriff’s detectives obtained an arrest warrant charging him with Robbery 1st Degree.
On December 5, 2016, members of the U. S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested Washington at a residence near Center Point. He also had warrants outstanding for Failure to Appear on Robbery 1st Degree and Possession of an Altered Firearm. He remains in the Jefferson County Jail with no bond.
In the second case, Sheriff’s detectives were investigating the robbery of a Family Dollar store in 1600 block of Forestdale Boulevard. The robbery occurred at about 3:00 pm on November 30, 2016. They learned that Birmingham Police and other surrounding jurisdictions were investigating similar robberies. Detectives again enlisted the aid of the Metro Area Crime Center. Investigators in the MACC developed information that led detectives to 21-year-old
Johndarius Ward
Johndarius Ward of Birmingham as a suspect in the robberies. Sheriff’s detectives were able to positively identify him as the person who committed the robbery at the Family Dollar. On December 2, 2016, detectives obtained an arrest warrant charging Ward with Robbery 1st Degree in this case.
On December 5, 2016, he was arrested. He remains in the Jefferson County Jail with bond set at $50,000.
The investigation into the robberies in other jurisdictions is ongoing and additional charges are expected against Ward.