UPDATE: Vestavia PD obtains warrants on suspects in morning abduction
Vestavia Hills police have obtained arrest warrants on two suspects in connection to Sunday morning's home invasion and abduction.
Warrants are for Brittany Harper and Blake Fitzgerald. Both are 31 years old and from Joplin, Missouri. The suspects are considered armed and dangerous, according to police.
Officers responded to a call about a possible home invasion Sunday around 7:58 a.m. When they arrived at the home, the husband reported a white male had entered his home through the garage. The suspect said he was having car trouble, then pulled a gun and demanded the keys to the family's car, according to police. The suspect also reportedly forced the victim's wife into the car, a 2010 silver Ford Edge, and they were joined by a white female accomplice.
After taking the car, the suspects reportedly drove east on U.S. 280, dropped the victim off a Grandview's Emergency Room entrance. She flagged down a passerby who brought her back home.
Charges for Fitzgerald include one count of first degree burglary, one count first degree kidnapping and one count first degree theft of property. Charges for Harper are first degree kidnapping, first degree theft of property. There is no bond on any of the charges.
The suspects may still be in the silver Ford Edge, tag number 2720AG7.
Hoover Police report the suspects have also been linked to another abduction and an attempted robbery.
The attempted robbery occurred around 7:45 a.m. Sunday in the parking lot of the McDonald’s at 1731 Montgomery Highway in Hoover. A manager reported she was approached by a man with a handgun as she was exiting her car. The suspect demanded cash and the victim’s car keys, according to police.
The victim threw her keys on the ground, yelled for help and ran toward the McDonalds.
The suspect, a white male, and a white female left the area in a blue Volkswagen Jetta with a New Jersey license plate. Police report about 15 minutes later, the same suspect in the blue Jetta committed the home-invasion robbery in Vestavia Hills.
"It appears they drove straight from Hoover to Vestavia," said Hoover PD Capt. Gregg Rector.
The Jetta used in the attempted robbery was found abandoned in Vestavia Hills, according to Hoover police. Detectives also learned the Jetta was stolen during another robbery that occurred in Tuscaloosa earlier on Sunday.
The victim, a male motel employee, was robbed at gunpoint and forced into his own vehicle, according to police, and then driven to the Hoover area. The victim was reportedly in the Jetta during the attempted robbery. He was found unharmed in Vestavia Hills.
Anyone with knowledge of the suspects or anyone who has seen the suspects is encouraged to contact local police and VHPD at 823-1153 as soon as possible.