ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — A Robertsdale man serving time on first degree assault charges for his role in an assault, robbery and kidnapping reported on Independence Day, 2017 in Robertsdale has been denied parole by the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles.
James Joel Harrison Thompson, now 22, of Robertsdale was booked July 11, 2017 and released Nov. 28, 2018 on charges of first-degree robbery, first-degree assault and first-degree kidnapping. Online records show he was booked again on the same charges on Dec 5, 2018.
According to a release, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles held 25 parole hearings on Thursday, Feb. 25, granting two paroles and denying 23, including Thompson’s. Three parole hearings were continued to a later date.
According to the Alabama Department of Corrections, Thompson was sentenced to 15 years (180 months) on first-degree assault charges and was booked into the Bibb County Corrections Facility in January of 2019. With 1,882 days of good time received and 30 days of good time revoked, he is scheduled for release in December of 2022.
According to a release issued in July of 2017 by the Robertsdale Police Department, Thompson was one of six individuals, including one juvenile, arrested in connection with an assault, robbery and kidnapping reported July 4, 2017 in Robertsdale.
During the investigation, two search warrants were served on two different residences, one at the County Road 54 residence and the other at a Baldwin Farms Apartments residence in Robertsdale.
“During the investigation, most of the property that was stolen from the victim was located which includes the victim’s wallet and pistol,” according to the report. “We contacted the U.S. Marshall Service for assistance with apprehending some of the individuals in which three individuals were arrested with their assistance. Again, this was not a random act of violence.”
Of the six arrested, one was a 16-year-old male whose name is not being released due to his age.
None of the others arrested with Thompson are currently listed as being in an Alabama Department of Corrections Facility.
Records show Jesse Noah Durden, then 19, of Robertsdale, was released Aug. 18, 2017 on a $10,000 bond and has no other booking record with the Baldwin County Corrections Facility.
John Tyler-Luis Ryan Saez, 19, of Foley, was released the same date on the same bond amount. Records show he was booked on Aug. 30 of last year on charges of driving under the influence, released the next day on a $2,000 bond. He was booked again on a probation violation charge Sept. 2 and released the same day on a $250 bond.
There are currently no records listed for the other two suspects, 20-year-old Austin Scott Jackson of Summerdale and 21-year-old Houston Zane McGowan of Gulf Shores.
