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Crime spree spotlights group's brazen robberies
(Fayetteville Observer, The (Fayetteville, NC) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Apr. 6--The young man and his 15-year-old accomplice walked into the convenience stores March 16 acting as though they had no cares.
Within about 6 hours, police say, the pair had robbed four stores, threatening to kill people for merchandise as inconsequential as Tahitian Treat, Doritos, Newport cigarettes and a small amount of money.
Along their way, police say, the two shot at a clerk from close range and at a group of motorcyclists who helped in their eventual arrest.
Alphonso Emmanuel Stephenson Jr., 20, and the 15-year-old -- whose name is being withheld because of his age -- are among six Fayetteville residents charged with robbing seven businesses in Cumberland County in March. Police suspect the group, which claims to have gang ties, is responsible for robbing as many as 16 businesses.
The March 16 robberies were particularly brazen. Fayetteville police Lt. Alex Thompson and store clerks who were robbed say Stephenson and the 15-year-old walked nonchalantly into the stores, chatted politely with the clerks, then robbed them, sometimes at gunpoint. For the pair, there was no rhyme or reason for the spree, other than a sporadic attempt to earn money, police say.
But the psychological impact on the victims can't be missed. One clerk was so unnerved that she quit her job.
Police and the clerks recount that early morning of terror. See Robberies, Page 5A for the story.
The young man fidgeting with the pink Sweet'N Low packets near the self-service coffee machine drew the helpful gaze of BP-Amoco clerk Mary Brooks.
"How old are you?" Brooks, 41, asked the slender man wearing a black cap and matching black jacket and pants.
"I'm 19, ma'am," 20-year-old Alphonso Stephenson politely replied.
Stephenson's 15-year-old friend peered at them from the restroom door.
"I was going to tell you that you're too young to be drinking coffee," Brooks chided Stephenson.
Brooks has worked at the gas station at 3310 Bragg Blvd. for three years. For her, it seemed like just another Sunday morning.
Outside the store, engines rumbled as 20 Harley-Davidson motorcycle enthusiasts from Cape Fear Hogs Chapter 3473 gathered for their monthly Sunday morning ride.
But everything was not what it seemed.
Stephenson goes by the moniker Mannie, and his teenage friend is known on the street as Block. They could not have cared less about bikers or that cup of coffee.
The two were at the gas station for the sole purpose of robbing it.
With the sun rising and a .380-caliber handgun stashed in Mannie's pants, Brooks was about to become their next victim.
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Joe Hawkins remembers their caps -- a black one worn by Mannie, a red one by Block. The bills were turned down to hide their faces.
The pair strolled into Hawkins' Wilco-Hess station at 4560 Raeford Road roughly three hours after they had robbed a Kangaroo gas station on Bragg Boulevard. Hawkins' station would become the pair's second robbery of the night.
They chatted up Hawkins like friendly customers, talking about late-night parties while scooping up two bags of Doritos, two 20-ounce Coca-Colas, a Tahitian Treat and two Toaster snacks.
As Hawkins turned his back to ring up the order, Block bolted to his rear. The robbery was on.
"Gimme the money," Block yelled.
"What did you say?" Hawkins replied, thinking it was a joke.
The 15-year-old lifted his black T-shirt and his red undershirt to display a handgun.
"Gimme the money," Block said, more sternly this time.
As Hawkins began erasing the previous transaction from the register, the two robbers grew anxious.
"Yo, man, he's stalling!" Mannie cried out.
"No. No. No. The only way I can open the register is by voiding the previous transaction," Hawkins replied. The drawer popped open.
Block grabbed green bags filled with about $75, leaving the coins behind.
"I want some cigarettes," Block told the clerk.
Hawkins rounded up 16 packs of Newports and gave them to Mannie. Then, to the robbers' surprise, Hawkins started to walk out.
"Where you think you're going?" they asked.
"You all got what you wanted, right?" Hawkins said.
"No. No. No," Block said. "You ain't going nowhere. Stay here and give us five minutes until we get away."
Hawkins waited until they walked out, then pushed a small panic button beneath the counter to alert authorities. He walked to the back of the store, where an assistant was working.
"We've been robbed," Hawkins said. Moments later, Hawkins walked to the front of the store, where he saw Mannie and Block sitting out front in a burgundy car. A heavy-set woman sat in the driver's seat. As she slowly backed out of the parking lot, Hawkins could hear the pair who robbed him. They were counting the money and laughing out loud.
"If I'm going to steal something, I'm going to at least try to get away," Hawkins said to himself. "These boys seem like they don't care."
Three hours later, the two robbers drove into a Kangaroo station at 3102 Bragg Blvd. After showing the clerk a gun, they left with an undisclosed amount of money, four packs of Newport cigarettes and a 20-ounce Dr Pepper. The experience so unnerved the 24-year-old clerk that she quit her job out of fear for her safety.
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Fifteen minutes after robbing that Kangaroo, Mannie and Block showed up at Mary Brooks' BP-Amoco for one more score.
Brooks gave Block directions to the restroom and checked on Mannie to see if he needed help with the coffee machine before returning to the front register. Mannie approached, laid some Sweet'N Low and coffee on the counter and waited as Block positioned himself nearby, looking at a magazine.
Suddenly, one of the motorcyclists who was in the parking lot entered the store. Mannie scrambled back to the coffee machine to get more Sweet'N Low.
"Can I pay for my gas with this card?" the man asked.
"Sure, I'll approve it for you, and you can come back in here when you're done," Brooks said.
As the man left to pump gas, Mannie returned to the front, placed the coffee on the counter and signaled Block with a tap on the shoulder. When Brooks looked down at the coffee, she saw the gun pointing at her.
"Open the drawer," Mannie said.
"And don't scream," added Block.
Brooks looked at her two would-be robbers, then glanced at the bikers outside. In a split-second decision, she bolted for the store window and banged on it for dear life.
"Help me! Help me!," she screamed. "I'm getting robbed!"
"Whatchu do that for?" Mannie hollered. "Whatchu do that for?"
Clutching his handgun, Mannie pointed it toward Brooks and squeezed the trigger. The bullet bounced off a nearby brick wall and hit Brooks in her right thigh, leaving a bruise but nothing more.
Mannie and Block ran at full sprint out the door, where about 10 of the bikers chased them on foot.
Another motorcyclist, Steve Holder, had just pulled up to get gas. He and Jerry Garner kick-started their Harleys and joined the pursuit.
"My mind said run them over," Holder said. "That's what I was going to do."
As Mannie ran, he fired gunshots toward the motorcyclists who were on foot, slowing their pursuit and allowing the two to dart into nearby woods.
But police were near. With help from the motorcyclists, police set up a perimeter and brought in trained dogs.
Mannie and Block were tracked down and arrested. Their robbery spree was over.
Two weeks later, police held a news conference to announce the arrest of six people charged with robbing Fayetteville businesses or a related shooting. Stephenson and the 15-year-old, who were among the six, are also accused of robbing a Wendy's restaurant at 5740 Yadkin Road on March 1.
The others charged are Jerry Dennings, 30, and his brother, Bryant Dennings, 24; Marcus J. Morgan, 25; and Whitley Russell, 23.
The Dennings brothers are accused of robbing and shooting 47-year-old Robbie Sanderson at his home on the 4000 block of Dwight Circle on March 8. Police say the brothers took $2 from him.
Their arrests, Thompson said, cracked the robbery cases wide open. Police continue to investigate other robberies.
"We may have only hit the tip of the iceberg," Thompson said.
RELATED
Store clerks have seen crime up close
Staff writer Corey G. Johnson can be reached at johnsonc@fayobserver.com or 323-4848, ext. 487.
To see more of The Fayetteville Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.fayettevillenc.com/.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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