Pair of teens with history of robberies arrested by TPD on attempted murder charge

Christopher Cann, Tallahassee Democrat
·3 min read
8

A pair of teens have been arrested in connection with a botched robbery that erupted into gunfire and left a man injured on June 11.

Robert Jones, 17, faces multiple charges including attempted murder, attempted armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a delinquent and shooting within an occupied vehicle.

Terry Jones, 19, was charged with attempted murder, attempted armed robbery with a firearm and a violation of parole.

Terry Jones' attorney has not responded to a request for comment; Robert Jones has not had a public defender assigned to his case yet, according to court records.

More recent robberies:

Man robbed outside his apartment

Police received a call for service regarding a man injured with a gunshot wound at the Camellia Knoll apartment complex, 200 block of Dixie Drive, just north of West Pensacola Street, sometime after 2 a.m.

When officers arrived, they found the man who was immediately taken to a local hospital, court records said.

While in the trauma unit, he told investigators earlier that night he stopped at the Shell Gas Station, 2410 W. Pensacola St., where he took notice of a pair of young men in camouflage jackets, according to an arrest affidavit.

Soon after, he saw the same two people standing near the entrance of the apartment complex where he resides.

The man said they "appeared suspicious," so he circled around so they couldn't find where he lives, a probable cause affidavit said.

On his second loop, the pair called out to him. He stopped before one of them got into his front passenger seat, produced a gun and said, "Give it up."

He tried pulling away before he was shot through the upper chest, court records state. Both men then fled the scene.

Following the shooting, police found a single projectile inside the man's car.

TPD did not include this shooting in an incident synopsis, which notifies local media and the public of serious crimes in city limits including shootings. The police department has not responded to comment on the omission.

There have been at least 78 serious shootings in the capital city and county this year resulting in at least 51 injuries and 13 deaths, according to an analysis of gun violence by the Tallahassee Democrat.

Later robbery leads to arrests

On July 6, a separate robbery occurred in the 3500 block of Sundown Road that bore striking resemblance to the mid-June robbery.

Police investigating this case landed on Robert Jones as a suspect. Because of the similarities between robberies, detectives showed a photo of Jones to the victim of the mid-July shooting, who identified him as one of the men who attempted to rob him, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Police identified the other suspect, Terry Jones, through a family member as well as a palm-print left on the victim's car.

Robert Jones was arrested Thursday and brought to the Leon County Detention Facility where he remains on a $50,000 bond for the attempted murder charge, read court records.

Terry Jones — who was arrested last year after Florida State University police connected him to robbing a vehicle — has been in the Leon County jail without bond since Monday, according to court records.

Contact Christopher Cann at ccann@tallahassee.com and follow @ChrisCannFL on Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee police arrest teens for attempted murder in botched robbery