An Arab man has been charged with murder after an attempted robbery left two men dead early Saturday morning.

Tyler Dwight Dooley, 26, of Arab is charged with murder in the death of Levi Benjamin Lawrence, 24, of Cullman, Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry said in a press conference Monday afternoon.

Dalton Matthew Bannister, 36, of Blountsville was also killed in the altercation, and an unidentified woman is being treated in a local hospital, he said.

Sheriff’s office investigators have determined that Dooley and Bannister planned to rob Lawrence while he was visiting a residence located on County Road 1854, but Lawrence was armed and a gunfight ensued between the men during the robbery attempt.

“Mr. Lawrence is the victim in this case,” he said. “Mr. Bannister, that is deceased, is the offender.”

The owner of the residence, Ricky Dale Martin, 48, of New Canaan was arrested on a charge of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, and Jacob Andrew Drane, 21, of New Canaan has been charged with criminal tampering with evidence, second degree and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Gentry said the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office received a call from Blount County 911 at around 1 a.m. on Saturday about a shooting in the New Canaan area, and deputies found the two men dead when they arrived at the scene.

Gentry said investigators found that Lawrence exchanged messages with Drane about coming over to the house to hang out, and Lawrence was there with Drane when Bannister, Dooley and the unidentified woman arrived.

He said Lawrence attempted to leave when the three arrived, but Bannister and Dooley had come to the house armed with a plan to rob Lawrence. Lawrence was also armed, and in the ensuing gunfight, he and Bannister were both killed and the woman was shot.

“Bannister and Dooley had predetermined that they were going to rob Lawrence of his possessions,” Gentry said.

Later that afternoon, deputies determined that Dooley had also been present at the scene and fled after the gunfire was exchanged, and they worked with the Arab Police Department and Marshall County Sheriff’s Office to find and arrest him in Arab, he said.

Gentry said a few things have come to light for him as deputies have continued to investigate the case, including the fact that Bannister and Dooley’s previous criminal records show they shouldn’t have been out in the public.

“Bannister and Dooley are a failure of the system,” he said. “If you look at their criminal histories, they should be in prison.”

They both had a reputation of going out and doing bad things, but when they tried to rob Lawrence, they ran into someone who wouldn’t let them get away with doing bad things to him or others, Gentry said.

“Mr. Lawrence was defending himself. He defended himself, and as a result, he shot someone who did bad things who is now deceased, but in turn he lost his life,” he said. “One of the things I look at is if Bannister and Dooley had both left, what other bad things would they have done to the people in the community?”

Gentry said the sheriff’s office has been in contact with Lawrence’s family throughout the investigation, and he offered his condolences to the family for their loss.

“For them, our heart and prayers are going out,” he said.

According to court records in Cullman and Marshall Counties, Bannister and Dooley had been arrested previously for drug possession charges in the past 10 years. In 2014, Dooley was sentenced in Cullman County to serve three years for possession of a controlled substance. That same year, Bannister also received a three-year sentence in Marshall County for possession of a controlled substance. In 2019, Dooley was arrested in Cullman County on two felony drug possession charges and one misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance. The felony charges were later dismissed and Dooley pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge.

Gentry praised the CCSO’s deputies and investigators for their hard work and long hours spent on the case over the weekend to help give the family some closure.

“They have worked continually around the clock, and by doing so, in their effort, we have been able to piece together this case and at least give the family some peace knowing that Dooley is in jail for murder, where he needs to be, and Bannister is deceased and he’s no longer with us,” he said.

Gentry also praised the cooperation between the different law enforcement agencies that have been involved in the case, including the Arab Police Department, Marshall County Sheriff’s Office and the Cullman Police Department — who offered the use of their helicopter during Dooley’s arrest.

“It’s just a good show of what law enforcement should be doing working together to get criminals off the street,” he said.

Dooley is being held in the Cullman County Detention Center on a $50,000 cash bond, Drane is being held on a $5,500 cash bond and Martin is being held on $1,500 cash bonds, Gentry said.

Amy Henderson contributed to this story.