Ex-Dollar General employee arrested for Dollar General robberies
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – An investigation into a home invasion gets Lowndes County deputies more than they bargained for.
Now an ex- Dollar General employee is in jail charged with stealing from his former bosses.
Tyre Andre Ranch is in jail on a 1.5 million dollar bond. Ranch is charged with 4 counts of armed robbery. 3 of those stem from a string of robberies targeting Dollar General stores in Lowndes County.
But it was a 4th robbery that put him on the sheriff’s radar.
Wednesday, April 13th deputies were called to a home invasion robbery in Steens. 2 men reportedly broke into a house, and used duct tape to restrain a 12-year-old girl.
The girl was able to get to her phone and text her mother for help. The mother called the father who was asleep in the home. He found the girl still taped up.
The victim was able to give deputies a description of the suspects. Deputies also found evidence that connected the home invasion to the Pleasant Hill Road Dollar General robbery.
The following night, the Sheriff’s Department’s STING unit pulled Ty Ranch over for a traffic stop. He was arrested on an unrelated drug search. During that arrest, deputies reportedly found items taken from both the home invasion and Dollar General robberies.
Now, Sheriff Eddie Hawkins wants to find the other suspects.
“Having a crew committing these types of offenses in our county, our community, is really concerning for us here at the Sheriff’s Department. It seemed like these crimes were starting to escalate and get worse. In the first robbery that occurred, we had a clerk in the store that was assaulted. The next robbery that occurred, we had 3 suspects go into the store and commit the offense. In the last robbery that occurred, the clerks were tied up using duct tape in the convenience store, so it started to appear that these crimes were starting to escalate. You combine that with the home invasion, it seems like we’re on the right crew,” said Sheriff Eddie Hawkins.
Anyone with information on the Dollar General robberies or Ty Ranch should call Golden Triangle Crimestoppers.
You could be in line for a reward of up to $1,000.
