Department of Justice

MOBILE, AL – On June 1, 2023, United States District Court Judge Terry F. Moorer sentenced Carlos Dominick Balams of Mobile to 120 months’ imprisonment for robbery and brandishing a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.

Documents filed with the court established that on August 2, 2022, members of the Mobile Police Department responded to the Dollar Tree Store located at 5201 Cottage Hill Road, Mobile, Alabama, due to a report of an armed robbery. While officers were enroute to the location, they were informed the suspect, later identified as Carlos Balams, was last seen on Cottage Hill Road wearing a reflective vest as well as other identifiable clothing. The officers were also advised Balams had a firearm.

Officers found Balams not far from the store near Cottage Hill Road and Knollwood Drive and he was taken into custody. Officers searched nearby and found a firearm, a cellular telephone, and cash that was stolen from the Dollar Tree. Other items were located by officers in the area between the Dollar Tree and where officers initially located Balams. Among these items was a second cellular telephone, which Balams had taken from one of the victims inside the store during the robbery.

Balams was taken back to the Dollar Tree and the victims of the armed robbery, and two store employees identified him as the armed robber. All the clothing the defendant wore and items he carried during the robbery, seen on the store security tape, were recovered on the defendant or on the path he took fleeing from the store. This included the firearm, the mask, the reflective vest and a backpack. While fleeing after the robbery, Balams lost one of his sneakers, which was found by police. The sneaker had a distinctive type U shaped trim which could be clearly seen in the store video.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Mobile Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney George F. May.