Grandson charged with aggravated robbery after alleged knifepoint theft

The 18-year-old Anderson County man accused of robbing his grandfather with the help of a second man armed with a knife was arrested Tuesday, authorities said.

Joseph Tyler Collins has been charged with aggravated robbery and is being held in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy. Collins’ bond has been set at $75,000.

Collins’ grandfather, Genis Hawkins, reported that he was robbed at knifepoint by his grandson and the second unidentified man, who was wearing a green rag over his face and holding a 15-inch-long knife, on November 20. Collins was arrested at a Clinton home on Tuesday afternoon.

Lucas said Sheriff’s Department investigators are still working to identify the others involved in the robbery.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a reported robbery in progress on Clear Branch Road, south of Rocky Top, at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 20. When they arrived, Hawkins told them he had answered a knock at the door and opened it for his grandson, who asked if he could use Hawkins’ phone. Hawkins said he left the door open and went to get the phone from his pants pocket.

But then his grandson and the armed man entered the home, Hawkins said. The armed man allegedly held the knife to Hawkins’ stomach area and told Hawkins he would “gut him,” according to an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department incident report.

The grandson demanded money, the report said. Hawkins said he gave his grandson a pair of pants that had three envelopes with $2,600 cash in various denominations, a cell phone, and his wallet with two bank cards and a driver’s license.

The grandson and the armed man then walked outside, and the man with the knife, described as an unknown white man, told Hawkins to stay inside or he would stab him. The two then ran down the driveway and fled in a vehicle driven by an unknown third suspect, Hawkins said.

One of the cash-filled envelopes was later found in Hawkins’ driveway. It had 14 $100 bills inside, and investigators photographed the bills and returned them to Hawkins.

Hawkins was not injured in the incident.