Suspect Now Charged in Two Weekend Crimes

TYLER — A 21-year-old Tyler man, already charged in a recent robbery, has now been charged with aggravated assault in a separate incident. Elliott Bernard West Jr. was jailed on a charge of aggravated robbery in connection with an incident Sunday in which a an 82-year-old woman was robbed of the cash in her purse at the Tyler Public Library. The new charge involves a Saturday incident in the parking lot of a medical office on Hospital Drive.

On Saturday evening, West allegedly approached another man sitting in a vehicle, produced a handgun, and demanded the vehicle. The victim walked away, leaving the keys in the car. The suspect did not take the car but fled the area on foot toward Tyler Junior College. Officers from TJC located and stopped a man matching the suspect’s description and identified that person as West. According to police, further investigation later revealed West to be the suspect in both incidents. West remains in the Smith County Jail with a $750,000 bond issued by Judge Jack Skeen.