Repeat Purse Snatcher Charged for Armed Robbery Near Tuscaloosa Walmart

A Tuscaloosa man is behind bars on multiple charges after reportedly robbing two women of their purses in a five-day period.

The Tuscaloosa Thread obtained two depositions which identified 20-year-old Tyron Deshawn Rivers as the perpetrator in both incidents.

According to the documents, the first robbery occurred on May 12, where Tuscaloosa Police responded to a call where a woman reported that a man "ran up on her and and asked her for her purse." The suspect, later  identified as Rivers, threatened to "hit her in the face" if she did not give him the purse.

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Rivers allegedly took her debit card and later attempted to use the card at an ATM at a store on Skyland Boulevard East. The victim was able to identify Rivers in video surveillance as the person who robbed her.

Five days later, on May 17, a second woman reported that she was robbed of her purse at gunpoint as she was walking back to her apartment from the Walmart Supercenter on Skyland Boulevard.

The victim in this case said as she was walking, she heard Rivers yell, "give me that purse for my mom." The woman stated that as she turned around, he was pointing a gun at her so she threw the purse and ran away.

Officers were later told that the suspect was running towards Walmart and patrolmen spotted a suspect running in the parking lot that fit his description. Rivers reportedly threw the gun down prior to being taken into custody, but it was recovered by police.

Rivers was charged with third-degree robbery in the first case and first-degree robbery in the second case. He also faces addition charges, including illegal possession of a debit card, attempting to elude, receiving stolen property and illegally possessing a handgun.

Rivers is being held in the Tuscaloosa County Jail on a $126,000 bond. Jail records indicate his bond may have been revoked for two older charges that are not related to the cases in this incident.