Arrests Made In String Of "Shock And Awe" Holdups
posted September 9, 2008
A Chattanooga detective testified Tuesday that he was told that numerous recent robberies were carried out to get bond money for a gang leader in Chicago.
Det. James Hostetter said Eric Lebron Springs told him the money was to go to one of the top leaders of the Traveling Vice Lord Nation.
Charges of armed robbery and criminal trespass were bound to the Grand Jury against Springs, 23, described as the local headmaster of the Traveling Vice Lord Nation.
Det. Hostetter said Springs told him that two gang leaders from Memphis came here and said the Chicago gang leader had been arrested for murder and money needed to be collected to get him out of jail. Det. Hostetter said it was not clear if any money actually went from Chattanooga to the Chicago gang leader.
But Det. Hostetter said Springs and others were involved in a string of "shock and awe" robberies from May through the end of August.
He said they would burst into businesses, cursing and wielding weapons. He said the victims would be forced to lie on the floor and hand over everything of value they had on them.
Det. Hostetter said Springs, who has the gang initials of TVLN tattooed in large letters on his neck, drove the getaway car and gave orders to the other robbers.
He said the group hit adult video stores on Rossville Boulevard and Broad Street multiple times as well as Bell's Smoke Shop on South Broad and other locations.
Det. Hostetter has charged Springs in five holdups and said he will add a sixth soon. He said Springs will likely be charged in several other robberies as well.
Springs was arrested after a holdup on Aug. 30 at the Rossville News at 2437 Rossville Blvd.
Det. Hostetter said Springs drove the vehicle and two other men burst inside the business and ordered the patrons to lie down and turn over their valuables. Several patrons gave testimony about that holdup.
In one of the robberies, a woman handed over $12,000 in jewelry, it was stated.
Det. Hostetter said authorities have identified the two men who carried out the Rossville News robbery and they are to be charged.
He said Barabbas Altrenease Brown, 30, of 4436 Dorris St., Apt. A, has been arrested in connection with holdups with Springs. He said Brown is a member of the Dorris Street Bloods.
Det. Hostetter said police had been noting the pattern of violent robberies, and he said a break in the case came just after the Aug. 30 holdup. He said a BOLO (be on the lookout) went out for a car used in the holdup and for the men who went in. He said Officer Curtis Morris heard the BOLO while he was visiting his diabetic father at the Ridgeway Apartments on the Westside.
He said Officer Morris saw the vehicle matching the description pull in and noticed that the men who got out were wearing clothes matching that of the suspects. He also recognized Springs.
An arrest of Spring was soon made, and he gave several statements.
Det. Hostetter said Springs has a lengthy record both as a juvenile and adult. "He has only been out of jail for four months his entire adult life," he said.
He said Springs told where the guns from the Rossville News holdup could be found. He said they were located along with some marijuana at a residence underneath a bed where a young child was sleeping.
General Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon raised the bond for Springs from $290,000 to $500,000.
He praised Det. Hostetter and Officer Morris for "outstanding, attentive and thorough police work."
While the gang burglaries were occurring, city police did not put out any information on the incidents. They were not listed with the daily police blotter available at the main police station on Amnicola Highway.
Questioned why the public was not made aware that the violent armed robberies were occurring, Jerri Weary, of city police public information, said, "For the sake of the continuity of a case, some details that are pertinent to an investigation are privy to those involved in working the case and may be delayed in release in order to make arrests. Information however, is gathered and released most often as soon as breaks in the case or arrests are made."
She said the Springs case "was an on-going and evolving case involving many people. Details were obtained over a period of time. Connections in the incidents were made by the investigator. These details were not made known because it was park of the on-going investigation. These details were confirmed only after the arrests of some key individuals."
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