Birmingham, Alabama – March 30, 2024 – An hours-long standoff in Birmingham ended with two men in custody in connection with the robbery of a jewelry store in north Alabama.
The men are also suspects in the kidnapping of two women from Brighton, which happened hours before the robbery in Guntersville.
Jonathan Banks, of Guntersville, and Andre Burgin, of Midfield are charged with robbery in the Thursday holdup at a jewelry store. The warrants against them were obtained later Thursday, said Guntersville police Deputy Chief John East.
Both men were undergoing booking into the Marshall County Jail early Saturday.
Guntersville police contacted the FBI in Birmingham after learning the suspects could be in that area.
Late Friday afternoon, FBI agents and Guntersville police at an apartment complex in southwest Birmingham across from Wenonah High School and a standoff ensued. Multiple other law enforcement agencies assisted during the standoff, including SWAT teams from several Birmingham area agencies.
More than four hours later, about 10:30 p.m., Banks and Burgin were found hiding in the attic of one of the apartments, East said. They were removed by tactical officers and turned over to Guntersville police. East and Guntersville Police Chief Ryan Darnell were among the Guntersville officers at the Birmingham standoff.
Brighton police Lt. Kenneth Hooten, who also is assistant fire chief, said the ordeal began shortly before 5:30 a.m. when two women were carjacked and abducted from west Jefferson County.
The two victims, 33-year-old Alma Nestor and 29-year-old Rosaneli Castro, were parked in the 4500 block of Bessemer Super Highway where they sell water and food to workers headed out to jobs in the early-morning hours. Two men approached the van, forced the women inside and left with them in their van. The abduction was captured on surveillance cameras.
Hooten said the victims did not know their abductors. About 11 a.m., he said, family members of the victims called Hooten and said they had been in contact with them.
It was initially believed that the victims were dropped off in a wooded area and walked to Lowes in Guntersville for help. It was later determined that the women and their van were left in the Lowe’s parking. The women were shaken but unharmed.
About 30 minutes before the women were released unharmed, Guntersville police responded to an armed robbery call at a jewelry store. Three people entered the store in a holdup attempt. The manager fired shots at them, and they fled in the white van. A short time later, Darnell said, Guntersville police said they received a call of two missing women who were at Lowes. The van – a 2020 Dodge Grand Caravan with Alabama license plate A0BUUP – was at Lowes with the women. It matched the van used in the jewelry store robbery.
Authorities have not said how they identified Banks and Burgin as suspects, but both have previously been arrested in Marshall County. More charges are expected against them in Jefferson County.
The article above (modified to remove the jewelry store’s name) was originally written Carol Robinson. Click here to see the full article.