TMP Reports
Posted: Monday, January 25, 2010 3:16 pm

One of two men was charged with robbery and theft Friday after he allegedly held up two men while wearing “security” jackets and cap, a Murfreesboro Police detective reported.

Suspect Joseph Michael Bess, 38, of Beech Grove, was charged with two counts of robbery of victims Kenneth Johnson and Dorry Evans on Greenland Drive, Detective Ed Gorham reported.

The second suspect remains at large.

In another case, Officer Palmer Gibbs reported a 15-year-old juvenile attempted to rob victim Dustin Gehrts about 7 p.m. Sunday on Ewing Boulevard near MTSU.

The suspect cocked a handgun and ordered him to walk toward him with his hands up, Gibbs reported. He ordered him to empty his pockets and asked what he had in the grocery bag. When told he had contacts in the bag, the suspect didn’t take anything.

Police located the suspect and charged him with aggravated robbery and aggravated assault. A hearing is pending in Juvenile Court.

In another robbery, Officer Travis Henderson reported victim Lana Gunning was leaving Kroger about 10 p.m. Friday on South Church Street when a man asked to use her phone.

When she reached into her purse, the man jerked her purse and ran, Henderson reported.

“During the robbery, Ms. Gunning fell and received injuries to her right knee and right shoulder,” Henderson reported.

Paramedics took her to Middle Tennessee Medical Center for treatment.

One man who witnessed the robbery chased the suspect but lost him behind Kroger.