The victim was bound, beaten, and robbed in a holdup at his Montgomery dry-cleaning business.
A second suspect has been charged for his alleged role in the March assault of a well-known Montgomery businessman who was bound, beaten, and robbed in a holdup at his dry-cleaning business. Spencer “Dragon” Thomas, a 57-year-old Prattville man, is charged federally with armed robbery and carjacking.
He was taken into custody in Las Vegas on May 27, Middle District of Alabama Acting U.S. Attorney Kevin Davidson announced Tuesday.The four attackers were dressed as construction workers. The indictment against Thomas says a search of his Prattville apartment turned up multiple items of evidence linking him to the crime including work gloves, a brochure for construction safety equipment and cash in an envelope that belonged to the bank Massey uses. Massey’s ordeal began at 6:10 p.m. that Monday when he was inside his business and heard a noise at the door. When he went to investigate, Massey was confronted by four men dressed as construction workers, including hard hats and high-visibility vests. The assailants grabbed Massey and forced him into an office where his locked safe was located, according to the federal complaint. Massey told them he didn’t know the combination from memory and would need his phone.Massey, documents said, opened the safe and stole between $6,000 and $8,000. After collecting the cash, the men walked Massey back into an office where they bound his feet and hands with zip-ties, ripped the business’s phones from their connections and stole Massey’s cell phone and car keys. Authorities are trying to identify four men who bound, beat and robbed Montgomery businessman Jim Massey in his office on March 10.Moments later, all four suspects were captured on home surveillance cameras near Noble Avenue in Montgomery. That footage showed them walking and one of them told the others to take off their jackets, which they did. An investigation was immediately launched by Montgomery police, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the FBI and the Metro Area Crime Suppression Task Force. On March 19, according to the criminal complaint, two men went to Massey’s business and told him they knew what happened.Investigators then responded to the business, where those two people told them that Sykes orchestrated the robbery and had been planning it for months. They also said they had been recruited by Sykes to help him carry out the crime. They met Sykes at a pre-determined location and were patted down to make sure they didn’t have any recording devices, the complaint states. Authorities are trying to identify four men who bound, beat and robbed Montgomery businessman Jim Massey in his office on March 10.They got into a vehicle and drove by Jim Massey’s Cleaners, learning that would be their target. Sykes also drove them to Massey’s home and said if they could not get him at the business, they would get him at his home.Sykes, they said, later changed that to construction gear “as if they worked with Alabama Power Company since it would be daylight outside during the offense.”“When they saw the news story of the robbery, they felt they need to inform the victim of what happened,‘’ an investigator wrote.After Sykes was taken into custody, investigators received information about another suspect named Dragon, who was described as an older Black male who drove a BMW and had ties to California. Analysis of Sykes’ phone records show communication with someone with a California area code which ultimately led them to Thomas. During the search warrant on Thomas’s apartment in Prattville, authorities found black “Grease Monkey” brand gloves in the bedroom, which were consistent with a pair of gloves worn by one of the individuals in the Jim Massey robbery. In the same bedroom, law enforcement located a black Umarex DSX-45 air/BB pistol, which looked like the weapon brandished in the attack by a suspect wearing the gloves found in Thomas’s bedroom. “The pistol was even put to the victim’s head at one point, making the victim believe he had a firearm to his head,” the complaint states. “A solid black hoodie was also located in the apartment, which was consistent with this subject in the video as well.” Lastly, a Riverbank and Trust envelope containing a $100 bill was found in Thomas’s bedroom. Riverbank and Trust was who Jim Massey had as his financial institute and items containing Riverbank and Trust were stolen from his safe.Sykes’ trial is currently set for August 11. If convicted on all charges, Thomas and Sykes each face up to 25 years in federal prison. There is no parole in the federal system.Georgia man with Vestavia Hills ties dies saving his son from drowning in Florida36-year-old man killed in shooting in Montgomery neighborhood If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
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