Suspects arrested in Gadsden Robbery

Three suspects are in custody in connection with a Tuesday night robbery at a Blythe Street residence in Gadsden.

Police responded to a robbery in progress at 8:09 p.m. They found two women on a front porch that was covered with glass, but the suspects had fled, heading toward East Broad Street.

The two women, a 31-year-old and a 27-year-old who is four months pregnant, told police they heard a knock on the door and when the 31-year-old went toward the door, she saw a man wearing a red shirt and with a red bandana over his face pushing it open. She tried to shut the door, but couldn't.

Two other men came in the door. One wore red shorts, no shirt and something red wrapped around his face. The other wore jean shorts, no shirt and had something black wrapped around his face. The man with the red shirt had a knife; one of the others was armed with a white piece of wood with a black screw in the end of it; and the third carried a table leg.

The men demanded money. The pregnant woman yelled “No money!” and the man in the red shirt punched her in the stomach.

The 31-year-old's husband had been playing his electric guitar in a bedroom. When he heard the women screaming, he came out with the guitar and started swinging it at the intruders. They ran, and he went out and tried to follow them in his car. As officers were finishing their work at the scene, the husband returned, saying he'd been unable to find the suspects.  Officers started driving in the area, looking for the three men. They passed three who fit the description at South 10th Street and East Broad, but by the time they turned around, the suspects were out of sight.

Three men fitting the description were spotted on South Ninth Street and were stopped by officers. One suspect was holding a red shirt in his hand, with a red bandana wrapped up in it. He had what appeared to be a fresh cut on his right elbow. One of the other men wore jean shorts and a black tank top, and the third wore red shorts and a black tank top.

Police took the three suspects into custody. A 17-year-old was taken to the Coosa Valley Detention Center and two 18-year-olds were taken to the Etowah County Detention Center, pending further investigation.