UPDATE (Oct. 23, 2023): Kyle Allen pleaded guilty to robbery, fraud and theft. He was sentenced to serve four years in Marion County Community Corrections home detention.
UPDATE (Feb. 15, 2023): Alyissa Hawkins pleaded guilty to robbery. Three other charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. She was sentenced to 3 years, with the bulk of the sentence suspended to probation. She’ll spend a year on home detention and electronic monitoring.
INDIANAPOLIS – A pair of suspects being investigated for a series of strong-armed robberies in Indy are back on the streets.
According to court records, the two suspects were under surveillance by IMPD’s covert robbery detectives when they snatched a woman’s purse outside a Walmart over the weekend.
The suspects were quickly arrested before being released from jail just hours later.
Police claim a woman was opening her car door and loading groceries at the Walmart on south Keystone when she was ambushed by a man who stole her purse.
Police watched that robbery take place then arrested 30-year-old Kyle Allen and 28-year-old Alyissa Hawkins after they sped away from the parking lot.
Police believe the same suspects also committed a half dozen similar robberies starting two weeks ago, first stealing a woman’s purse at a Walmart on Emerson.
That was followed by another robbery at a Kroger on Thompson, then a check cashing business on Sumner and two crimes at a Kroger on south East street.
According to the affidavit, Hawkins confessed to at least two of the crimes. Allen denied any involvement and told police he would only confess if Hawkins was released.
Jail records show before those formal charges were filed this week, both suspects were able to bond out of jail. Hawkins was released on a $7,500 surety bond, while Allen posted a bond of just $750 in cash.
“How on earth does a low bond like 750 dollars ensure public safety?” said Indy FOP president Rick Snyder.
Indy FOP president Rick Snyder believes cases like this illustrate why many alleged criminals don’t fear the justice system in Marion County. He also called for the prosecutor’s office to increase staffing for arrestee processing over the weekend, when a large number of crimes take place.
“It’s another example of a revolving door of criminal justice and the faster the police put the alleged criminals into the system, the faster they get back out and into our neighborhoods,” said Snyder.
While the two suspects have only been formally charged with one of the robberies, police say the series of crimes remain under investigation.
“If one of these suspects harms somebody or gets harmed because they had a low bond, how does that serve public safety?” said Snyder.
Although the suspects were not put on supervised release, they were ordered to stay away from Walmart stores in Marion County.
Anyone with information should contact Detective Dane Elkins at the IMPD Robbery Office at (317) 327-3475 or via email at Dane.Elkins@indy.gov.
Booking photos were unavailable. IMPD said detectives were still investigating the matter and would approve their release at a later date.
The FBI, Violent Crime Task Force and IMPD SWAT all investigated the matter.