The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Michael Joe Kirkland, Jr. of Florence, was linked to the incident by recovered evidence.
Michael Joe Kirkland, Jr. escorted out of court by police.
A Florence man arrested for several charges following a burglary over the weekend will remain behind bars.
Thirty-four-year-old Michael Joe Kirkland had a bond revocation and an Aniah's law hearing Monday after being charged with sodomy, assault, burglary, and robbery Saturday evening.
Judge Ben Graves revoked Kirkland's pre-existing bond and denied bond for the several charges he received over the weekend.
Florence District Attorney Chris Connolly says he had at least three felony charges.
The victims' families who attended court Monday were understandably distraught. Some showed their anguish by yelling at Kirkland when he entered the courtroom.
WAAY 31 dug through court records and found out his crimes including theft, breaking and entering, and criminal trespassing date back to 2014.
Court records show he was out on bond for breaking into a car in 2023 to steal it. He was just indicted for that crime in May.
Police say on Saturday, officers responded to a burglary report at a home on Howell Street in Florence. Officers say they found two elderly women with multiple injuries inside.
Sgt. Ryan Kelly says Kirkland allegedly came to the first woman's home and asked for water. Once he was in the house, he attacked the 79-year-old, tied her up, and assaulted her. The woman's 76-year-old neighbor, who is also her caregiver, came to check on her but was confronted by Kirkland. She was also assaulted. Police say Kirkland knew of the victims.
Court records show the homeowner was airlifted to the hospital, while the other woman was taken by ambulance.
Kelly says this was simply a violent crime.
“This is something that doesn't happen very often in Florence," Kelly said. “It just was someone who decided they wanted to hurt a couple individuals."
Kelly says officers were able to use doorbell camera footage to identify the suspect with a description given by the victims.
Officers recognized Kirkland from previous interactions, and within the hour of the initial call, authorities had him in custody.
Kelly says this incident shows how important it is to check on your elderly loved ones.
“Check on your family members, also stress the importance of not letting people who are strangers into their house or even people they don’t know that well,” Kelly said.
Kelly says a lot of crimes like this start with someone asking for help or offering services.
He says you shouldn't trust anyone you don't know knocking on your door.
If you or someone you know believes they're being taken advantage of, call the police.
Neighbors on Howell Street were shocked to hear what happened over the weekend.
One neighbor who's lived on Howell Street for 10 years says this is not something he expected to happen here.
"On this street, people are very friendly and nice and those ladies never bothered anybody,” Mohid Bathak said. “They are elderly ladies and whatever happened to them is very sad.”
This investigation is still ongoing. Authorities say Kirkland could still face more charges.
