By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A 39-year-old Alabaster man was released from the Shelby County Jail on a $10,000 bond after police said he resisted a loss prevention employee at Alabaster’s Lowe’s home improvement store.

Tom Wesley Bobo was arrested by the Alabaster Police Department on Jan. 29 and charged with one felony count of third-degree robbery.

According to police, a Lowe’s loss prevention employee approached Bobo after the suspect allegedly store a pair of lineman’s pliers valued at  $49.78.

Alabaster Police Department Lt. Jeff Anthony said Bobo would have been charged with a misdemeanor theft charge, but said the suspect allegedly resisted and fled the loss prevention employee.

“It started out as a theft, but because of his actions, it turned into a robbery,” Anthony said.

After police responded to the scene, they arrested Bobo and returned the pliers to the store, according to police reports.

According to Alabama law, third-degree robbery is a Class C felony, and occurs when a person “uses force against the person of the owner or any person present with intent to overcome his physical resistance or physical power of resistance.”

The arrest marked the second of its kind in the past few weeks. On Jan. 24, Alabaster police arrested 41-year-old Kyle Dewayne Mixon and charged him with third-degree robbery and third-degree theft.

Police said Mixon allegedly attempted to steal several children’s clothing items from a department store on South Colonial Drive, resisted a loss-prevention employee and attempted to flee the scene.