Car crash turns into robbery on Highland, suspect arrested

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A man is now in police custody after they say he was involved in a crash that turned into a robbery Sunday night. Officers say it all started when they responded to a robbery call in the 3500 block of Coleman Avenue in the Grahamwood area. A woman told police that she had been involved in a wreck with a grey sedan on Highland Avenue and Coleman Street. She says that after the car accident, she continued driving eastbound on Coleman Avenue, but that the grey sedan followed her and cut her off. That is when she says four male suspects got out of the grey vehicle, attempting to pull her and her passengers out of her car. The suspects are accused of hitting her in the face and taking her purse, which had her wallet with her ID, debit cards, tablet and her cell phone. A male victim in the passenger seat also says he was assaulted by one of the suspects. Police say the passenger had visible injuries to his face and was bleeding heavily. He says the suspects took his cell phone and wallet with debit cards and IDs after beating him.  Another victim, who was sitting in the backseat of the vehicle, was struck in the face several times and had a large cut on his upper lip, according to police. The suspects are accused of taking his wallet with IDs and debit cards from him. Both injured victims were then taken to the hospital in non-critical condition. On Tuesday, officers say they responded to a store in Binghampton where a man and woman were seen loitering on the premises with a "No Loitering" sign posted. When officers tried to make contact with the man, they say he turned around and walked away even after they asked him to stop. That is when the man ran away and the officer began to chase him. Police say they were able to take him into custody in a backyard on Baltic Street. The suspect was identified as Keith Johnson. Officers say they found a variety of credit cards, debit cards, a drivers license and IDs in Johnson's front left pant pocket before placing him in the squad car. After being placed in the squad car, police say Johnson made a "spontaneous utterance" to the officer that he was in a crash last night and the individuals in the crash told him to take their identification and cards. Officers say they immediately recognized the names on the IDs and various debit/credit cards as victims from a previous report that involved a crash. Johnson was then taken to 201 Poplar.