HOUSTON, Oct. 5 -- Two female robbery suspects dubbed 'Thelma and Louise' because they allegedly preyed only on men have been arrested in Toronto on immigration charges, police said Thursday. Joyce Carolyn Stevens, 31, and Rose Marie Turford, 36, were arrested Wednesday and will be returned to Houston.
In May, they jumped $500,000 bail in Houston on robbery charges and became fugitives. The nicknames, 'Thelma and Louise,' came from the movie of that name about the cross-country crime spree of two women on the lamb. Stevens and Turford allegedly used a telephone dating service in Houston to meet men, whom they then allegedly ambushed at hotels or the men's homes. Police believe the pair robbed at least 10 men in Texas, and they allegedly robbed two men in Las Vegas. Investigators suspect the women may have been planning to kidnap as many as five businessmen in Canada for ransom. Since early summer, the women had been sighted in several Canadian cities, including Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal. Canadians reported seeing the women posing as nuns at one point and as strippers another time. They were arrested Wednesday after a tip was received from one of the fugitives' co-workers at a Toronto telephone service. Turford was arrested at the telemarketing firm while Stevens was arrested at her apartment, Houston police said.
