Birmingham Police and Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama are asking the public for help tracking down a suspect in an armed robbery that happened at a downtown bus stop last week. Detectives have surveillance photos of the person they believe is responsible, but they still need help putting a name to the face.
Robbery Happened at Busy Downtown Transit Stop
The armed robbery happened on Nov. 3 at the bus stop at 20th Street South and 4th Avenue South, according to WBRC. That intersection sits in the heart of Birmingham, where commuters regularly wait for buses throughout the day. Detectives got photos from video surveillance and are asking for help identifying the suspect, the station reports.
Birmingham Police are asking if anyone can help them find a suspect in the case, and Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama has joined the request for public assistance. Anyone who recognizes the person or the crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama. Tipsters will remain anonymous, and if a tip leads to an arrest, the tipster could receive a cash reward of up to $5,000, according to WBRC.
How Crime Stoppers Handles Tips and Rewards
Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama has previously explained how its tip process works for people hesitant to come forward. The organization says it gives tipsters a tip ID number rather than asking for their name, and that a tip does not need to lead to a conviction for a reward to be paid — just a determination from law enforcement that the information had value, as reported by AL.com. The group has said it pays out rewards every week.
That system has handled much larger caseloads before. During the investigation into the Five Points South mass shooting, Crime Stoppers had collected around 150 tips on its own, while investigators were sifting through nearly 500 total tips once submissions to Birmingham Police were included. A $100,000 cash reward was offered in that case, with $50,000 of it coming from Crime Stoppers, as noted by The Trussville Tribune. The bus stop robbery case is far smaller in scale, but it relies on the same tip pipeline that has helped drive bigger investigations forward.
For now, investigators are hoping someone recognizes the person in the surveillance photos from the Nov. 3 incident. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama.
