Suspect in Fort Worth robbery, shooting arrested

One of two robbers whom detectives described as “extremely dangerous” was in custody Thursday as police continued their hunt for his accomplice.

The two are suspected of kidnapping a woman last week and then shooting another woman a few days later.

Police identified the suspect in custody as Darrell Wayne Caldwell Jr., 19, of Fort Worth. He was arrested without incident Wednesday at a motel near Alta Mesa Boulevard and Interstate 35W.

He is expected to be charged with aggravated kidnapping/deadly weapon, police said.

Patrol officers found an abandoned 1999 Nissan Maxima in a field Tuesday night that matched the vehicle used in a robbery and kidnapping on Jan. 27. The subsequent investigation led detectives to obtain an arrest warrant for Caldwell.

Robbery detectives and members of the Fort Worth police fugitive unit located Caldwell at the motel and took him into custody. A second man found in the motel room with Caldwell was interviewed by detectives and released.

Caldwell, who is believed to have been the driver of the Maxima during the offenses, refused to talk to detectives, said police Sgt. Steve Enright in a news release.

Police on Thursday asked again for help in identifying the second suspect.

The first incident occurred about 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 27.

Police said the victim, in her 20s, had just turned north on Campus Drive and saw the robbers’ vehicle — a dark-colored sedan — go past.

The victim had stopped behind the sedan at the next traffic light when a man suddenly got out and approached her vehicle carrying a shotgun.

The man pointed the weapon at her through a window, and then he and another man opened the doors and one of them pushed her out of the driver’s seat. The men, one driving the her car, took the woman to another location.

There, the men took the woman’s phone and credit cards before leaving her in her car and fleeing. The woman drove to a relative’s home and called police.

Detectives said the suspects discussed assaulting her but did not.

Police believe that at least one of the robbers struck again on Jan. 30, and shot a woman in the 4400 block of California Parkway.

According to police, the victim and her teenage daughter were sitting in an SUV, stopped behind a vehicle at a stop sign at the Hartman Road intersection shortly before 2 a.m.

The driver of the leading vehicle suddenly got out and approached the woman’s SUV with a shotgun, police said.

The woman tried to drive away when the suspect fired the weapon.

The woman was struck in the foot but fled and flagged down Forest Hill police for help. When police arrived at the shooting scene, the man and his vehicle were gone, police said.

Police said the woman was hospitalized for her injury. Her daughter was not hurt.

Investigators suspect robbery was the motive, they said.

Anyone with information should call Fort Worth police at 817-392-4469 or Crime Stoppers 817-469-8477.

This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published February 5, 2015 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Suspect in Fort Worth robbery, shooting arrested."