Five jailed in Tyler, Texas following robbery and scam

Four men and one woman were in jail in Tyler, Texas as of yesterday morning following a robbery allegedly involving an elaborate scam.

Police alleged Alneisha Butler originated a scheme to lure a 25-year-old man to an apartment complex in Tyler late Tuesday night, where he was accosted at gun point by four men. Butler and the man had been corresponding online for a few weeks, when she told him she wanted him to meet some friends of hers, according to police.

When the two met at the complex, they were met by the four men who demanded money from the victim. He didn't have cash, so the assailants ordered him to get cash from an ATM (Automated Teller Machine) while they held the woman until his return. The man left the scene and notified police by phone. The men named as alleged assailants in the crime were Lawrence Caston, Shannon Howard, Justin McGee, and David Roberts.

The woman and each of the four men were being held on a US$750,000 bond. A police spokesperson cautioned, "This could have [just as] easily happened if he met her at a bar as it happened online. If you go somewhere with someone and they start leading you to a place you don't feel comfortable, then don't go".