TYLER, Texas — A Tyler man led an armed robbery and held a woman at gunpoint after he was left out of a gathering held at the home, arrest documents allege.
Charles Ray Griffith Jr., 34, is charged with aggravated robbery in connection with a Sept. 12 incident in which he is accused of holding a woman inside a home at gunpoint to steal a TV, according to an arrest affidavit.
The affidavit states Griffith was a "ringleader" among a group of four people who broke into her home while she was there. While she was in the bathroom, she heard a noise and found multiple people in her living room. She saw her TV was off the wall, and her boyfriend later saw the television sitting in their yard. The woman said Griffith and the others stole tools and disconnected their surveillance camera.
She told police that she believes Griffith and the others were "taunted by them having a gathering at their house (on Sept. 12) with other friends." She said she believed Griffith was on drugs and this was not the first time he had stolen from them, the document read.
The woman said she took some of the property out of Griffith's hands and repeatedly told him to get out. Griffith had tried to take some speakers, but she stopped them as well. She told police that Griffith pointed a gun at her, the affidavit said.
Deputies tried to pursue a vehicle in the area of where Griffith lives, but the vehicle evaded arrest at a high speed when the deputy tried to complete a traffic stop. The deputy pursued the vehicle down several streets with emergency lights and sirens on until they lost sight of the vehicle around American Legion Road and County Road 381, according to the affidavit.
Griffith was ultimately arrested on Sept. 17 after he led deputies on another chase, but this time it was on a motorcycle.
The Smith County Sheriff's Office said he led deputies on a chase with his motorcycle down Highway 271 and into Tyler. He tried to ditch his motorcycle and take off on foot, but was taken into custody in the backyard of a home on Pearl Street.
Upon his arrest, deputies found about 120 grams of a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, which was an amount police believed to be used for selling and distributing, the affidavit explained. In addition to robbery, he is charged with evading arrest and manufacture of delivery of a controlled substance.