Trio Sentenced in Kidnapping, Robbery of Elderly Woman

Three defendants were sentenced to serve over sixty years in prison after the Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated a jury verdict that was originally overturned by a local judge. At a three-day trial in October 2011, Assistant District Attorney Kevin Allen obtained jury verdicts for Especially Aggravated Kidnapping, Aggravated Robbery, and Aggravated Burglary against co-defendants Larry Jereller Alston, Kris Theotis Young, and Joshua Edward Webb. Following the trial, Judge Mary Beth Liebowitz set aside the jury’s verdicts for Especially Aggravated Kidnapping and Aggravated Burglary citing double jeopardy. The State appealed, and the Supreme Court reinstated the charges.

At a sentencing hearing before Judge Scott Green, ADA Allen argued the Defendants deserved enhanced sentences, citing the vulnerability of the victim and the Defendants’ prior criminal records. Judge Green agreed and sentenced Webb and Young to twenty-two years in prison each and Austin to twenty years in prison. Because of the violent nature of Especially Aggravated Kidnapping, the Defendants are not eligible for parole and must serve 100% of their sentence.

The case started on April 15, 2010, when the three Defendants accosted a sixty-six year old woman outside her house on Chicago Avenue. They took her purse at gunpoint before forcing her into her residence. Once inside, the Defendants pushed the elderly woman on her couch, held multiple firearms to her head, and ransacked the residence. Unbeknownst to the trio, a neighbor saw the initial altercation on the street and called 911. Knoxville Police Department officers arrived at the house while the Defendants were still holding the victim. When the three saw police had arrived, one ran out the back door and was arrested by waiting officers. The other two hid inside the house allowing the victim to run to the safety of the KPD officers on scene. The two Defendants still inside the house were forced out of hiding after a K9 was released.

“”This senseless, cruel, and violent crime has forever traumatized this victim,”” said District Attorney Charme Allen.””Even today, five years later, the victim does not feel safe in her own home because of the actions of these three criminals. I hope that she may find some degree of peace knowing that they will be off the streets for the next two decades.””

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.