A 25-year-old man has been charged with aggravated robbery following a heist at a Houston convenience store on Tuesday evening. The suspect, identified by authorities as Eric Benjamin Munoz-Lizaola, was arrested after a police operation tracked him to a red Ford F-150 truck that matched the description provided by the victim of the crime.
According to a news release from the Houston Police Department, the robbery took place at about 8:30 pm at a store located on the 5100 block of N. Shepherd. Munoz-Lizaola is alleged to have threatened the store clerk with a gun and demanded cash, before, fleeing in the red truck. The clerk was unharmed during the incident and promptly reported the robbery to the police.
Officers from the North Patrol Division were dispatched soon after the incident and successfully found a vehicle matching the suspect's description at the 8600 block of Sweetwater. The man detained at the scene was Munoz-Lizaola, and a subsequent search of the truck unearthed the firearm and stolen money. Munoz-Lizaola is now facing charges of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in the 232nd State District Court.
The store employee had their sense of security violated in a matter of moments. "He was working as a cashier at a convenience store when the suspect walked in with a gun, pointed it at him, and demanded the money from the cash register," according to the account on the Houston Police Department's robbery division website.
The mugshot of Eric Benjamin Munoz-Lizaola has been disseminated as part of police protocol and can be viewed on the Houston Police Department's official website pertaining to this case. As the case progresses to court, more details might emerge about the circumstances that led to the fateful encounter at the convenience store.
