Four arrested, one sought in Church Hill home invasion
CHURCH HILL — Four Johnson City men have been charged and one more is at large in connection to an early Monday morning home invasion in Church Hill that police say was motivated by an alleged drug debt.
The suspects arrived at a residence on Burlington Road around 2:30 a.m.
Church Hill Police Department Chief Mark Johnson said one suspect kicked in the front door and four males entered the residence while the fifth suspect kept the getaway car running in the vicinity.
Two occupants of the residence, a 35-year-old mother and her 18-year-old son, were home at the time.
“Both were woke up by the break-in,” Johnson said. “Two of the suspects wore masks over their faces. The two residents were forced to lay in the floor and held at gunpoint. At least two of the four suspects held handguns and one was holding a knife.”
Johnson said the suspects were seeking cash — one demanding $800 and another demanding $1,000.
The suspects then searched the residence, taking property including $75 cash, jewelry, various electronic devices, several knives and two packs of cigarettes, Johnson said.
After the men left, one of the alleged victims contacted a family member who called 911.
The suspects were captured later in the day Monday after being intercepted by police at a location where the victims were supposed to make a payment.
“During the robbery the female victim pleaded for her and her son’s lives and promised if they would not kill them she would get $800 for them later in the day,” Johnson said. “One of the robbers agreed to meet her at an undisclosed location around 2 p.m. to collect the money from her.”
Johnson added, “Detective Kevin Grigsby staked out the area. Around 2:30 p.m. (Monday) Grigsby observed a black car being followed by a white car approaching the target location. The driver of the black car dropped off a passenger who set out on foot toward a wooded area behind the target location.”
Grigsby then apprehended the suspect, who was allegedly found in possession of a loaded handgun.
CHPD Sgt. Chad Mosley conducted a traffic stop on the white vehicle.
A female driver, who police said was not involved in the home invasion, was arrested along with two male passengers alleged to be among the home invaders.
The black vehicle fled the area, but Johnson said that car’s driver was identified as being involved in the home invasion and the CHPD has issued an arrest warrant for him.
The four males in custody were charged with aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary and theft over $1,000. They include:
• Lloyd Anthony Gibson, 22, 418 W. Magnolia Ave., Johnson City.
• Harrison Vaught Whittington, 21, 15 Regency St., Johnson City.
• Ricky Ronald Crawford, 20, 1715 Mary St., Johnson City.
• Eric Lynn Ewing, 22, 709 E. Unaka Ave., Johnson City.
The female driver, Chelsea Alexandra Moorleghen, 21, 2101½ Sinking Creek Road, Johnson City, was charged with simple possession or casual exchange of a scheduled drug and possession of drug paraphernalia.
“So far we have recovered one of the two handguns used in the home invasion,” Johnson said. “All defendants have made statements which added to the evidence we had already obtained. Additionally, the victims have identified the suspects as the people who robbed them.
“Our investigation revealed that the alleged drug-debt motive — if it happened — did not occur within our jurisdiction,” he said.
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