Detroit Robbery Victim Gives Life To Save His Wife

Posted by Newsone.com

Family of Detroit man killed during apparent armed...: Charles Caldwell, 57, from Detroit, talks about his brother, who was shot and killed early Wednesday morning, during an apparent robbery attempt at his home on Detroit's west side. / Mike Brookbank / Detroit Free Press 12/07/11

The family of a man on Detroit’s northwest side says he died a hero, trying to keep an armed robber from his wife.

Tommie Caldwell, 63, was shot by a robber inside his home at 5:05 a.m. in the 18400 block of Edinborough, a tree-lined street of tidy, modest brick bungalows near 7 Mile and Evergreen, according to Detroit Police and his family. His wife, Alberta Caldwell, 64, was unhurt.

“He begged them not to hurt her because she’s in remission,” Alberta’s sister, Ethel Jackson, 62, of Detroit said, explaining that Alberta has been battling breast cancer. “He told her that they were being robbed.”

Tommie Caldwell, who spent years working the line at Chrysler’s Lynch Road assembly plant, left his home early today to catch a bus, said his brother, Charles Caldwell, 57, of Detroit. His car broken down, Tommie Caldwell had been taking public transportation to his part-time job at a Highland Park factory, cutting through Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary School on Curtis on his way to a stop near 6 Mile and Outer Drive, his brother explained.

But this morning, an armed gunman approached him as he walked, forcing him to walk back home, Charles Caldwell said.

Once they were inside, a struggle ensued and Tommie Caldwell was fatally wounded, Detroit Police Sgt. Eren Stephens said. 

The man escaped with Alberta Caldwell’s purse, jumping into a getaway car waiting out front, Charles Caldwell said.

Investigators told the family that the suspect was responsible for four or five robberies this morning, according to Charles Caldwell. The family was told at about 10 a.m. that police found Alberta’s purse and the getaway care abandoned.

Stephens said investigators were not confirming any of that information.

“We’re still gathering evidence and talking to witnesses – that’s key,” she said, explaining why police were not commenting. 

Alberta Caldwell, sitting in her bungalow’s kitchen, surrounded by family today, said she wants to stay in the home she’s lived in for years. She shrugged as family members said they want her to move.

“They can’t keep me safe,” she said about staying in her home. “I would, but the kids don’t want me to.”

Alberta’s sister, Rozeta Warren, 44, of Ann Arbor, said the family is reeling from the tragedy.

“We really are hurt,” she said. “We are praying really hard.”

Another sister, Aletha Jones, said she’s waiting for word from police about the robber.

“We just want them to be caught,” she said. “It’s a tragedy.”