Amphitheater robbery suspect says he was in wrong place at wrong time

Adjani Jari Bryant, 22, of 3023 Richward Place, is charged with six counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, five counts of second-degree kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Three armed men with handkerchiefs over their faces burst into the amphitheater box office Monday morning and forced a manager at gunpoint to open the safe, according to a 911 caller. The robbers stuffed about $500,000 in cash from weekend concerts into backpacks before locking three employees in a walk-in freezer and two others in the box office and fleeing.

Police dogs tracked the robbers through nearby woods and swamps to a fence line behind homes on Friendly Trail, according to a search warrant released Wednesday. Investigators recovered a black T-shirt, black coveralls and an undisclosed amount of cash behind two homes, the warrant states.

A short time later, Bryant was arrested while walking nearby, along Rock Quarry Road. Police are still searching for two other men in the robbery.

Bryant's mother, Teri Little, said he called her from jail, crying.

"One of the the first things I did do was tell him, 'If you did it, say you did it,'" Little said Wednesday. "But he's like, 'Mama, I did not do this.'"

Bryant told his mother that several men robbed him of his clothes at gunpoint, and he went to a friend's house to borrow some clothes shortly before he was arrested.

"I've never been the type of parent to take up for my kids when they're wrong," Little said, acknowledging that her son has been in trouble with the law before.

His criminal record dates to 2008, but most of the charges involve property damage.

Little said she wants Bryant to be treated fairly.

"I want to be there to help him as much as possible because this is serious," she said.